One restaurant's $1,000 bagel isn't quite the same as what you get at the corner deli.
Also: 
Monday, July 25, 2011
A cancer you can treat & beat
The second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. can be prevented, if found early enough.
Also: Doctors to companies: Stop wasting our time.
Frustrated doctors are pushing to scrap sick certificates for patients who have only one day off.
They say the practice is a waste of their time and have slammed "demanding bosses" and unreasonable workplace policies.
Requests for certificates have exploded in recent years as bosses increasingly force staff to visit a doctor to prove they should stay at home for a day.
New Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton questioned why staff should need a doctor's certificate for one day off and called on the Federal Government to address the drain on the healthcare system under industrial relation laws.
My work is one of these retarded companies that force us to get a certificate for every sick day we take. It's fucking insane and the doctors I have seen are obviously fucking pissed off about having to do them. One doctor even had a rant to me about stupid out of touch executives with their heads shoved so far up their asses. That they would need a doctors help to remove it. But that doctor would be too busy writing certificates for people with sore tummies.
Congress Must Eliminate Its Own Pensions, Reduce Its Salaries ...
... Before Cutting a Dime From Middle Class Entitlements
But like those in congress say ...budget cuts are only for the little people.
Paul Abrams writes over at Huffington Post:
Nor, I am afraid, can we afford to pay you $174,000 per year. You take a lot of time off already, probably more than teachers, and so we are really overpaying you, and you do not need to invest in continuing education to keep your credentials up-to-date. Moreover, middle-class workers actually suffered a decline in salaries over the last decade, even prior to the Bush Recession, so you need to be cut back to what you were earning in 1999.
We would like to pay you more, but we just cannot afford it.
Oh, yes, on healthcare and your gym memberships -- you can start paying for those like all other Americans do, out of your salaries. Instead of the program for federal employees, you can only get covered by whatever insurance is available in the states from which you come. That will be good for you, it would enable you to be "men and women 'of the people.'" We are doing that for your own benefit.
Clever Boy
A small boy was playing with a basketball in the street, when suddenly it bounced through the railings and broke the kitchen window of one of the houses by the street. The lady of the house waited with anger in her eyes for the appearance of the ball’s owner. He arrived.
“Please, I’ve broken your window,” he said, “and father’s come to mend it.”
Sure enough the boy was followed by a man, who at once set to work, while the boy, taking his ball, ran off.
The window finished, the man said:
“That’ll be three pounds, mum.”
“Three pounds!” gasped the woman. “But your son broke it. The little fellow with the ball. You’re his father, aren’t you?”
The man shook his head.
“Never seen him before,” he said. “He came round to my place and said his mother wanted her window mended.
You’re his mother, aren’t you?”
“Please, I’ve broken your window,” he said, “and father’s come to mend it.”
Sure enough the boy was followed by a man, who at once set to work, while the boy, taking his ball, ran off.
The window finished, the man said:
“That’ll be three pounds, mum.”
“Three pounds!” gasped the woman. “But your son broke it. The little fellow with the ball. You’re his father, aren’t you?”
The man shook his head.
“Never seen him before,” he said. “He came round to my place and said his mother wanted her window mended.
You’re his mother, aren’t you?”
Vacationing Cop Shot Foiling Robbery
A veteran New York Police Department detective vacationing in Miami Beach was shot in the leg while foiling an early-morning robbery attempt outside his hotel.
Female robbers use skirts to steal wine
Skirts are not the typical accessory for a crime, but two female suspects in Pembroke Park, Fla. used their flowing garbs to make off with hundreds of dollars worth of fine wine.
The Broward Sheriff's Office released video of the suspects in action. One of the women acts as a lookout while the other one goes into action.
"One of them took it out, put it on the shelf, looked back to the clerk, saw he wasn't looking. She grabbed it, put it up her skirt. She must have had something stuck in her skirt, because it went real easy," described store owner Paul Mouts.
The ladies got away with about $400 worth of wine. This isn't the first time this store has been targeted. Last October, a group of women came in and robbed the place using a similar method.
The Broward Sheriff's Office released video of the suspects in action. One of the women acts as a lookout while the other one goes into action.
"One of them took it out, put it on the shelf, looked back to the clerk, saw he wasn't looking. She grabbed it, put it up her skirt. She must have had something stuck in her skirt, because it went real easy," described store owner Paul Mouts.
The ladies got away with about $400 worth of wine. This isn't the first time this store has been targeted. Last October, a group of women came in and robbed the place using a similar method.
Man Says He's Mishandled By Airport Screener Again
A Michigan man with bladder cancer who suffered a rough airport pat-down that caused his urostomy bag to spill its contents on his clothing last fall said he was mishandled by a screener at the same airport earlier this month.
Glen Care of Mount Olive, NC, Fined $16K After Six Hepatitis-Related Deaths
The owners of a Mount Olive assisted living center have been fined $16,000 after six hepatitis-related deaths.
‘Spider-Man’ actor arrested
Rhys Ifans is cited for misdemeanor battery for what police called "belligerent" behavior.
Also: Possible class action lawsuit against News Corp for misleading investors
It's pile on time and News Corp is going to be on the receiving end for a while.
Hagens Berman's investigation centers on claims that by failing to disclose the hacking, News Corporation made misleading statements to investors, causing the company's stock to be traded at an artificially high price.
Earlier this week, two former executives, one at News of the World and another at the paper's parent company News International, reportedly claimed that James Murdoch, the company's Deputy Chief Operating Officer and heir apparent, was fully informed in 2008 of the scope of the scandal.
"James and Rupert Murdoch either knew or should have known the despicable prevalence of hacking as a reporting tactic at News of the World," said Mr. Kathrein. "We are investigating what they knew and when, as well as the impact the company's failure to disclose the scandal earlier may have had on investors."
FBI inquiry of Murdoch's empire: reliance on Brits
The FBI is just cranking up a preliminary review of whether alleged phone hacking and bribery by Rupert Murdoch's media empire violated U.S. laws, but any resolution may well have to await the outcome of British investigations.News Corp UK execs threatened British Members of Parliament
Anyone want to bet against the same thing happening in the US? How long do you really need to think about it before you come up with a story about ridiculous attacks on Democrats?
This bullying behavior has to stop.
This bullying behavior has to stop.
Lib Dem insiders say NI officials took their lobbying campaign well beyond acceptable limits and even threatened, last autumn, to persecute the party if Vince Cable, the business secretary, did not advance its case.
According to one account from a senior party figure, a cabinet minister was told that, if the government did not do as NI wanted, the Lib Dems would be "done over" by the Murdoch papers, which included the now defunct News of the World as well as the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times.
The accounts are only now coming to light, say sources, because the minister involved feared the potential for damage to the party, which was already suffering a dramatic slide in popularity after going into coalition with the Tories. They chime with reports from senior figures in the Labour party who say that Murdoch executives issued threats to Ed Miliband's office after the Labour leader turned on NI when the news broke that murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler's phone had been hacked into by the News of the World.
Why Can't Astronauts Whistle in Space?
Now I’m not talking about whistling in a vacuum. It’s obvious that attempting to do so would fail. But even astronauts on spacewalks in protective suits can’t whistle. Why not? Former astronaut Dan Barry explained:“You can’t whistle because the air pressure in the suit is only 4.3 [pounds per square inch], and normal atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi, so there are not enough air molecules blowing by your lips to make a sound,” he said.[...]
Jeff Hoffman, a retired astronaut with three spacewalks (including a mission to repair the Hubble telescope) has traveled 21.5 million miles in space. He said the technicians who trained him on spacewalks had told him that he wouldn’t be able to whistle, but he says he tried anyway.
“I couldn’t get one note out,” he said.
Time Travel Impossible, Say Scientists
By showing a single photon cannot travel faster than the speed of light, scientists prove time travel is impossible.
Towser The Distillery Cat
Mice love to feast on barley and can quickly overrun a distillery where the grain is plentiful unless steps are taken to control them. From 1963 til 1987 a longhaired tortoiseshell cat named Towser was charged with keeping the rodent population in check at the Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, Scotland where Famous Grouse whiskey is made. Towser had a natural talent for her work and caught an estimated 28,899 mice during her tenure at the distillery. That’s an average of three mice a day! She has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s best mouser and once upon a time her pawprints appeared on the label of Fairlie’s Light Highland Liqueur. Today a statue stands in her honor at the distillery site with an inscription that reads:Towser
21 April 1963-30 March 1987
Towser, the famous cat who lived in the still house,
Glenturret Distillery, for almost 24 years.
She caught 28,899 mice in her lifetime.
World mousing champion, Guinness Book of Records.
Her successor, Amber, did not match Towser’s skill and in fact was never known to catch a single mouse during her tenure as distillery mouser.21 April 1963-30 March 1987
Towser, the famous cat who lived in the still house,
Glenturret Distillery, for almost 24 years.
She caught 28,899 mice in her lifetime.
World mousing champion, Guinness Book of Records.
Bambi and Thumper in real life
A baby fallow deer was taken into Holbrook Animal Rescue, with head and leg injuries, after being hit by a car. One of their rescue rabbits seemed to know that something was wrong and immediately snuggled up to the deer. The rabbit started to wash and comfort the fawn, and the fawn responded.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:Dazzling charm is pouring out of you today, enabling you to attract a lot of diverse people -- including some very flighty folks.
You know, the kind of people who always talk about wanting to get together but who always back out of plans at the last minute?
Luckily, with the mood you're in right now, you'll see their flaky behavior as charming and nothing to get all riled up about.
Hey, if they miss out on fun times, it's their loss, right?
Some of our readers today have been in:
Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Burghausen, Bayern, Germany
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Leicester, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Vilnius, Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
Milan, Lombardia, Italy
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
Burghausen, Bayern, Germany
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Leicester, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Vilnius, Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
Milan, Lombardia, Italy
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
as well as Slovakia, 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 Columbus, Iowa City, Lancaster, Livonia and more.
and in cities across the United States such as Columbus, Iowa City, Lancaster, Livonia and more.
Today is:
Today is Sunday, July 24, the 205th day of 2011.
There are 160 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:
Cousins Day
and
Tell An Old Joke Day.
and
Tell An Old Joke Day.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Global health secrets
Japan has a strikingly low obesity rate, thanks in part to a unique cultural eating practice.
Also: Fifty-eight Percent of Consumers Prefer Organic
Photo: ianmalcm
A recent Thompson Reuters poll found that 58 percent of consumers prefer organic to conventional foods if given the choice, according to an article on Huffington Post. The numbers are highest in the young and educated segments of the population. But does this mean that we're buying more organic than conventional? Not so fast.Article continues: 58 Percent of Consumers Prefer Organic
Survivors tell of terror in Norway
Dressed as a policeman, the man called for campers to come close, then opened fire.
Also: Norwegian Wingnut
The alleged killer doesn't have any ties to terror factions or much of a criminal record.
Also: 
The killer in Norway had 90 minutes to shoot victims before police could arrive.
Also: 
The 32-year-old says the killings were "atrocious" but "necessary," according to his lawyer.
Also: Lunatic Fringe
Suspect in Oslo terror attacks is right-wing. anti-muslim christian (Are we surprised?).
Murdoch U.S. scandal brewing? No, it has been brewed for a long time. Now we destroy the bad brew.
You know it's bad when even Dick Lugar thinks that the repugicans have gone overboard.
Murdoch U.S. scandal brewing? No, it has been brewed for a long time. Now we destroy the bad brew.
You know it's bad when even Dick Lugar thinks that the repugicans have gone overboard.
Get this ...
Get this - the insane muckrakers over at WingNutDaily are harping about 'Liberal' as having a mental disorder claiming the work of a proven quack (whom they call a 'veteran psychologist') as proof of their idiocy.
As a Psychologist I can tell you it is not those who call themselves Liberals that suffer from a mental disorder.
As a Psychologist I can tell you it is not those who call themselves Liberals that suffer from a mental disorder.
Teabaggers sued by Vegas hotel
They don't believe in paying their bills, either?
The Venetian in Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee-based 'tea party nation' for an unpaid $600,000 bill.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that the hotel claims the teabagger group owes money for a five-day convention it canceled at the hotel last summer.
The Tea Party Nation reserved 1,637 room nights in the Palazzo.
The crazy teabaggers cancelled two weeks before the event.
The group agreed to pay the hotel $579,148 in the event of a cancellation and $87,996 in interest has since been added to that amount.
Who could have been stupid enough to have thought there were 1600 teabaggers who could afford a $160 a night hotel?
NFL owners done negotiating
As the players work through the owners' proposal, one NFL boss says his side is done negotiating.
Also: Why Borders chain collapsed
The giant bookstore chain made many mistakes, but one stands out, says an expert.
Also: Bride and prejudice
Eight cops ruined the happiest day of an innocent young couple's life by stopping their wedding to wrongly accuse them of an immigration scam.
Corporate profits continue but without jobs
Welcome to the new normal. The tax code helped get us into this situation so why not use it to push us out of it and add jobs?
Wages and salaries accounted for just 1 percent of economic growth in the first 18 months after economists declared that the recession had ended in June 2009, according to Sum and other Northeastern researchers.
In the same period after the 2001 recession, wages and salaries accounted for 15 percent. They were 50 percent after the 1991-92 recession and 25 percent after the 1981-82 recession.
Corporate profits, by contrast, accounted for an unprecedented 88 percent of economic growth during those first 18 months. That's compared with 53 percent after the 2001 recession, nothing after the 1991-92 recession and 28 percent after the 1981-82 recession.
New career in one year
These strategies can help you quickly move into one of five growing fields.
Also: Only $675 to furnish their house
This couple came up with clever ways to outfit their home cheaply but nicely.
Also: World's most exotic yachts
The Maltese Falcon's computer-operated sails allow it to cross the Atlantic in 10 days.
Also: Amy Winehouse is dead
Troubled, Grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse has been found dead in her North London home, Sky News is reporting. The Daily Mail reports that police have confirmed the passing.In a statement, the London Metropolitan Police said, "Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased. On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained."
A suspected drug overdose took the life of the singer, Nick Buckley of the Sunday Mirror tweeted.
She's battled drug addiction for years, having most recently checked back into rehabilitation in May.
Winehouse entered treatment in late 2007 for drug problems, including admitted heroin use.
Earlier in the day, Gatt tweeted a statement saying that she was withdrawing from all of her upcoming performances, writing, "Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances. Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen."
Winehouse has had previous near-death experiences, including one her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, described in detail back in 2009.
The singer’s personal demons managed to eclipse her promising music career.
Also: It's a Blond World
A young blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes in the worst way, but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking.
After becoming very frustrated with the “no haggle” attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, “Maybe I’ll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!”
The shopkeeper said, “By all means, be my guest. Maybe you’ll luck out and catch yourself a big one!”
Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator.
Later in the day, the shopkeeper is driving home, when he spots the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he sees a huge 9-foot alligator swimming quickly toward her. She takes aim, kills the creature and with a great deal of effort hauls it on to the swamp bank. Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures.
The shopkeeper watches in amazement. Just then the blonde flips the alligator on it’s back, and frustrated, shouts out, “Damn it, this one isn’t wearing any shoes either!”
After becoming very frustrated with the “no haggle” attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, “Maybe I’ll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!”
The shopkeeper said, “By all means, be my guest. Maybe you’ll luck out and catch yourself a big one!”
Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator.
Later in the day, the shopkeeper is driving home, when he spots the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he sees a huge 9-foot alligator swimming quickly toward her. She takes aim, kills the creature and with a great deal of effort hauls it on to the swamp bank. Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures.
The shopkeeper watches in amazement. Just then the blonde flips the alligator on it’s back, and frustrated, shouts out, “Damn it, this one isn’t wearing any shoes either!”
And the Mother-Of-The-Year award goes to ...
A Connecticut mother is charged with forcing her 4-year-old son to drink beer and giving beer and cocaine to her 10-month-old daughter.
Police say it appears a woman intentionally crashed her car with her two daughters inside after getting into a heated argument with her estranged husband earlier this week.
Police say it appears a woman intentionally crashed her car with her two daughters inside after getting into a heated argument with her estranged husband earlier this week.
Baby rolls off train as women's fists fly
A shocking video has surfaced of two women fighting on a crowded New York train as a baby stroller belonging to one of them rolls out the door onto the platform.
In the video, the woman pushing the stroller gets into an argument, presumably over a seat, as the train pulls into a station.
During the confrontation, which quickly becomes physical, the baby’s stroller rolls onto the subway platform. As the fight continues, horrified commuters attempt to break up the fight as well as bring the baby’s disappearance to the woman’s attention.
After the fight is broken up, the woman with the child walks off the train and pushes the stroller, baby in tow, along the platform as the other woman continues to shout from the subway car.
In the video, the woman pushing the stroller gets into an argument, presumably over a seat, as the train pulls into a station.
During the confrontation, which quickly becomes physical, the baby’s stroller rolls onto the subway platform. As the fight continues, horrified commuters attempt to break up the fight as well as bring the baby’s disappearance to the woman’s attention.
After the fight is broken up, the woman with the child walks off the train and pushes the stroller, baby in tow, along the platform as the other woman continues to shout from the subway car.
Texas prison guard snuck hacksaw in tacos
Prosecutors said a Texas jail guard tried helping a convicted murderer and two others escape by smuggling them tacos stuffed with hacksaw blades.
Texas cattle rustler asks to be hanged with his boots and spurs
Convicted cattle rustler Roddy Dean Pippin has asked a Texas court to string him up in the Hardeman County square and let him hang for his crimes instead of continuing to keep him locked up in prison. Pippin is engaged in a dispute with the state over how much longer he should remain in custody.
"Movant desires to die with his boots and spurs on and without his face covered, for he wishes to see the lights go out at high noon," Pippin, a 27-year-old diabetic cowboy, wrote in an unusual and melodramatic motion he filed June 30 in the Hardeman County District Court.
Pippin, who has a severe and rare form of diabetes, was sentenced to four consecutive two-year state jail terms when he pleaded guilty in 2004 to stealing cattle in rural North Texas. He is now serving time at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Carole S. Young unit, a medical facility, but he argues that his sentence should have ended last month. TDCJ officials, however, maintain Pippin should stay in custody until January 2013.
The dispute boils down to a disagreement over whether Pippin should get credit toward his jail sentence for two years he served on "shock probation," essentially house arrest. A judge allowed Pippin to serve two years under his mother's care so that he could get the medical care he needed for his diabetes. Pippin argues those two years should count toward his time served. TDCJ interprets the judge's ruling that allowed him to serve the probation differently. Pippin has challenged TDCJ's calculations and is awaiting a decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
"Movant desires to die with his boots and spurs on and without his face covered, for he wishes to see the lights go out at high noon," Pippin, a 27-year-old diabetic cowboy, wrote in an unusual and melodramatic motion he filed June 30 in the Hardeman County District Court.
Pippin, who has a severe and rare form of diabetes, was sentenced to four consecutive two-year state jail terms when he pleaded guilty in 2004 to stealing cattle in rural North Texas. He is now serving time at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Carole S. Young unit, a medical facility, but he argues that his sentence should have ended last month. TDCJ officials, however, maintain Pippin should stay in custody until January 2013.
The dispute boils down to a disagreement over whether Pippin should get credit toward his jail sentence for two years he served on "shock probation," essentially house arrest. A judge allowed Pippin to serve two years under his mother's care so that he could get the medical care he needed for his diabetes. Pippin argues those two years should count toward his time served. TDCJ interprets the judge's ruling that allowed him to serve the probation differently. Pippin has challenged TDCJ's calculations and is awaiting a decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
From Hot Nights To Dusty Days
In Matt's recent post on hot weather he reported that June Record High Temperatures Beat Record Lows 11-to-1 in US.
Yesterday, the 21st of July, it was hotter than hell across much of the Eastern US.
Nights, which tend to have the daily minimum, were especially unpleasant. Out of 5,569 daily minimums recorded on the 21st, 188 broke previous records and another 138 tied them (exceeding or equaling, respectively, the previous record for daily minimum temperature).
Article continues: From Hot Nights To Dusty Days - Broken Weather Records Are The New Normal
It's easier now than ever before to trigger a mass extinction
Image credit: AJC1 via Flickr/CC BY
The mass extinctions that wracked the earth 200,000 years ago may have been much easier to trigger than was previously believed, a new study published in the July issue of Science argues. It was thought that it took 600,000 years to suffocate much of the planet's life with carbon dioxide. But scientists now have evidence that just a few thousand years of warming temperatures were enough to spur a massive release of methane from the world's seafloors -- creating a feedback loop that dramatically altered the Earth's climate, and rendered it inhospitable for many living things.And so, the inevitable million-dollar question: Does this finding have any connection to the modern day climate crisis? In a word: Absolutely.
Article continues: Mass Extinctions: Now Easier Than Ever to Trigger!
The elusive Higgs boson
Higgs boson results cause flurry
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has picked up tantalizing fluctuations which might - or might not - be hints of the sought-after Higgs boson particle. The Largest Water Mass In The Universe
Astronomers have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe in a quasar called APM 08279+5255. The distant quasar is one of the most powerful known objects in the universe and has an energy output of 1,000 trillion suns, about 65,000 times that of the Milky Way galaxy.
Ten Bizarre Underwater Events
Most Tacky and Weird Uses of Animal Dung Across the World
Animal dung is extensively used as fertilizer, for producing biogas and even for making floors of village houses.
Upping the cute factor
This little guy is so happy to be stroked, he can barely keep his eyes open.
Watch his sleepy antics
Watch his sleepy antics
Also:
Chinese developer uses scorpions to drive residents from their homes
A Chinese real estate company was suspected of releasing several thousand scorpions into apartments at a residential complex in Shenzhen to force residents to move out in order to make way for a new construction project. A resident surnamed Chen woke up early on Monday morning and discovered a scorpion crawling on his body. Chen turned on the light and was astonished to see the bedroom full of scorpions, which have a poisonous sting. Chen woke up his family and together they captured several hundred scorpions in his apartment.
Chen later learned from his neighbor that the arachnids were discovered in all apartments on the street. A man holding a bucket was seen walking out of the office of Shenzhen Luosha Engineering Development Co, a real estate firm that will build a new project at the complex. The man poured something from the bucket into apartment windows, a witness surnamed Li said. Li later found the street was crawling with scorpions, the report said.
Police and residents spent the whole night capturing nearly 50 kilograms of scorpions. All the apartments are scheduled to be demolished but home owners haven't signed compensation deals yet. Residents said they suspect the developer freed the scorpions to drive them out as some buildings have already been torn down due to a tight schedule.
The developer denied it was behind the scorpion scare and also claimed to be a victim. "The move was too despicable," a company manager was quoted as saying. "We wouldn't lift a stone only to have our own toes squashed," The manager added there was no need to "scare" residents as they had recently made a huge breakthrough in compensation negotiations. Police are still investigating the incident.
Chen later learned from his neighbor that the arachnids were discovered in all apartments on the street. A man holding a bucket was seen walking out of the office of Shenzhen Luosha Engineering Development Co, a real estate firm that will build a new project at the complex. The man poured something from the bucket into apartment windows, a witness surnamed Li said. Li later found the street was crawling with scorpions, the report said.
Police and residents spent the whole night capturing nearly 50 kilograms of scorpions. All the apartments are scheduled to be demolished but home owners haven't signed compensation deals yet. Residents said they suspect the developer freed the scorpions to drive them out as some buildings have already been torn down due to a tight schedule.
The developer denied it was behind the scorpion scare and also claimed to be a victim. "The move was too despicable," a company manager was quoted as saying. "We wouldn't lift a stone only to have our own toes squashed," The manager added there was no need to "scare" residents as they had recently made a huge breakthrough in compensation negotiations. Police are still investigating the incident.
'Alien' monkey causes panic in Chinese village
A malnourished monkey caused panic among Chinese villagers who mistook him for a creature from outer space. The starving animal had no hair and its skeletal frame convinced locals in Gezhai village,Henan Province, they were being visited by an alien life form.
The creature was first spotted as it munched cucumbers in housewife Mao Xiping's flat. She was so scared of its "alien face" that she called police and told them to arrest it.
It was only later that they worked out that the animal was actually a monkey. Now scientists are examining the skinny creature to see what species it is and where it came from.
Ms Mao said: "At first I thought it was a rabbit, then I was shocked to see it had an alien face. My neighbours agreed it was like nothing we'd seen before. It stopped eating cucumbers when we gave it peaches and now it won't eat anything else."
The creature was first spotted as it munched cucumbers in housewife Mao Xiping's flat. She was so scared of its "alien face" that she called police and told them to arrest it.
It was only later that they worked out that the animal was actually a monkey. Now scientists are examining the skinny creature to see what species it is and where it came from.
Ms Mao said: "At first I thought it was a rabbit, then I was shocked to see it had an alien face. My neighbours agreed it was like nothing we'd seen before. It stopped eating cucumbers when we gave it peaches and now it won't eat anything else."
Dog saved from death row after singing Happy Birthday
A terrier in Australia has saved himself from death row by singing Happy Birthday. Poor old Patches' elderly master passed away and, in the confusion that followed, 17-year-old Patches ended up in the pound. As relatives desperately tried to find him, it seemed the search for the dog, who used to howl along as his master sang, would be in vain. But then a Victorian Dog Rescue foster carer found a dog matching Patches' description at Mildura Pound - and was asked to sing Happy Birthday to it.
"I started singing to him and at first he got a sad, faraway look in his eyes, just like he was thinking about something or missing someone," Kaye Grivec said. "Then he put his head back and started howling along with me and I just burst into tears of joy." Marie Vassallo, the Sydney-based daughter of Patches' late master Eddie, said the dog had spent hours sitting on her father's knee while he sang songs to him, mostly in Italian. "When they finished singing, Dad would say, 'Bravo, bravo, Patches' and Patches just loved it," she said.
"When it was anyone's birthday, Dad would telephone them and sing Happy Birthday to them with Patches singing along. It was Patches' favorite song and it became a family tradition for Dad and Patches to sing it together." Mr Vassallo was 82 when he died three months ago. Patches had been his constant companion for 15 years. Ms Vassallo said she was heartbroken in the aftermath of her father's death to discover Patches had gone missing and probably would have been impounded for at least three weeks. "It meant his time on death row would have been up and he had probably been destroyed.
"But through Victorian Dog Rescue we were able to find him again in Mildura and now we are organizing to have him brought to Sydney to live out his life with us." Ms Vassallo praised the animal organization for "doing the impossible and rescuing old dogs no one wants from pounds and then finding new homes for them. Patches would be dead and buried by now except that Victorian Dog Rescue go the extra lengths to find homes for dogs others think are impossible to place," she said. "In this case, they have returned a much-loved dog back to his very grateful family."
"I started singing to him and at first he got a sad, faraway look in his eyes, just like he was thinking about something or missing someone," Kaye Grivec said. "Then he put his head back and started howling along with me and I just burst into tears of joy." Marie Vassallo, the Sydney-based daughter of Patches' late master Eddie, said the dog had spent hours sitting on her father's knee while he sang songs to him, mostly in Italian. "When they finished singing, Dad would say, 'Bravo, bravo, Patches' and Patches just loved it," she said.
"When it was anyone's birthday, Dad would telephone them and sing Happy Birthday to them with Patches singing along. It was Patches' favorite song and it became a family tradition for Dad and Patches to sing it together." Mr Vassallo was 82 when he died three months ago. Patches had been his constant companion for 15 years. Ms Vassallo said she was heartbroken in the aftermath of her father's death to discover Patches had gone missing and probably would have been impounded for at least three weeks. "It meant his time on death row would have been up and he had probably been destroyed.
"But through Victorian Dog Rescue we were able to find him again in Mildura and now we are organizing to have him brought to Sydney to live out his life with us." Ms Vassallo praised the animal organization for "doing the impossible and rescuing old dogs no one wants from pounds and then finding new homes for them. Patches would be dead and buried by now except that Victorian Dog Rescue go the extra lengths to find homes for dogs others think are impossible to place," she said. "In this case, they have returned a much-loved dog back to his very grateful family."
Zoo Tigers Beat Deathly Heat Wave by Snacking on Bloodsicles
Photo: M Glasgow under a Creative Commons license.
With an unprecedented spike in temperatures breaking records all over the country, humans aren't the only ones feeling the heat. But just as humans have come up with lot of ways to keep cool, tigers at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and the Minnesota Zoo have found a strategy to beat with the heat, reported Today. They're slurping down popsicles made of blood.Article continues: Zoo Tigers Beat Deathly Heat Wave by Snacking on Bloodsicles
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