`NSW health officials are investigating an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease after two women were hospitalised with symptoms of the killer bacteria.
The two women, one aged in her 50s and the other in her 70s, were admitted to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital sometime last week after visiting Chatswood’s shopping area.
Doctors on Friday confirmed they had contracted an infection of the lungs caused by the bacteria of the Legionella family.’
`A new theory to explain global warming was revealed at a meeting at the University of Leicester (UK) and is being considered for publication in the journal “Science First Hand”. The controversial theory has nothing to do with burning fossil fuels and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
According to Vladimir Shaidurov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the apparent rise in average global temperature recorded by scientists over the last hundred years or so could be due to atmospheric changes that are not connected to human emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of natural gas and oil. Shaidurov explained how changes in the amount of ice crystals at high altitude could damage the layer of thin, high altitude clouds found in the mesosphere that reduce the amount of warming solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface.’
`A Pennsylvania motorist is going to federal court to protect a very specific part of what he claims are his free speech rights: the right to show his middle finger.
Thomas Burns of New Castle, Pa., was cited for disorderly conduct last April after he became frustrated with a PennDOT traffic delay and he flipped his middle finger at a construction worker. The worker reported the gesture to a police officer in Beaver County, Pa., who cited Burns.’
`Sandra Day O’Connor, a Republican-appointed judge who retired last month after 24 years on the supreme court, has said the US is in danger of edging towards dictatorship if the party’s rightwingers continue to attack the judiciary.
In a strongly worded speech at Georgetown University, reported by National Public Radio and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Ms O’Connor took aim at Republican leaders whose repeated denunciations of the courts for alleged liberal bias could, she said, be contributing to a climate of violence against judges.’
`Isaac Hayes has quit “South Park,” where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.
Hayes, who has played the ladies’ man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.
“There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins,” the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.’
`The University of Wisconsin – Madison has deployed 35 5.6TB Xserve RAID storage arrays in a single research installation as part of an ongoing scientific computing initiative.
The Grid Laboratory of Wisconsin (GLOW), a partnership between several research departments at the University of Wisconsin, have installed almost 200TB, or 200,000GB, of Xserve RAID arrays. As a comparison, 200TB of storage is enough to hold 2.75 years of high definition video, 25,000 full length DVD movies, 323,000 CDs, 20 printed collections of the Library of Congress, or over 1000 Wikipedias.’
with pictures.
`Were you to glance up from the deserted beach below, you might mistake Tranquility Bay for a rather exclusive hotel. The statuesque white property stands all alone on a sandy curve of southern Jamaica, feathered by palm trees, gazing out across the Caribbean Sea. You would have to look closer to see the guards at the wall. Inside, 250 foreign children are locked up. Almost all are American, but though kept prisoner, they were not sent here by a court of law. Their parents paid to have them kidnapped and flown here against their will, to be incarcerated for up to three years, sometimes even longer. They will not be released until they are judged to be respectful, polite and obedient enough to rejoin their families.
Parents sign a legal contract with Tranquility Bay granting 49 per cent custody rights. It permits the Jamaican staff, whose qualifications are not required to exceed a high-school education, to use whatever physical force they feel necessary to control their child. The contract also waives Tranquility’s liability for harm that should befall a child in its care. The cost of sending a child here ranges from $25,000 to $40,000 a year.’
`Late last week, anti-virus vendor McAfee acknowledged that its anti-virus software had mistakenly flagged hundreds of legitimate third-party programs as malware, prompting some customers to delete or quarantine these programs.
The error lay in McAfee’s daily virus definition file called DAT, causing genuine files to be identified as W95/CTX – a virus first discovered in 2004. [..]
The files that were dubbed malicious were Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet, Adobe’s Flash, Google’s Toolbar installer, parts of Sun Microsystems’ Java Runtime Environment and several Adaptec drivers.’
`The reigning Miss Deaf Texas died Monday afternoon after being struck by a train, officials said.
Tara Rose McAvoy, 18, was walking near railroad tracks when she was struck by a Union Pacific train, authorities said. A witness told Austin television station KTBC the train sounded its horn right up until the accident occurred.
McAvoy, who had been deaf since birth, won the state title in June and represented the state “with dignity and pride,” state pageant director Laura Loeb-Hill told the Associated Press via e-mail Monday night.’
`As hybrid sales skyrocket, there’s a growing concern that the battery-gas powered vehicles pose a risk because they aren’t as noisy as gas-powered engines. When idling, hybrids run on the quiet electric battery. Most, with the exception of GM and Honda hybrids, can also operate on the battery until the car reaches higher speeds, when the gas engine kicks in.
What follows is silence at locations where drivers are likely to tangle with pedestrians and bicyclists — crosswalks, turning lanes and parking lots.
In Sant’Anna’s case, an elderly man enjoying a morning walk didn’t hear her coming as she backed into the street. She lunged for the brake, stopping just short of hitting him.’
`Facing problems in its efforts to train insects or build robots that can mimic their flying abilities, the U.S. military now wants to develop “insect cyborgs” that can go where its soldiers cannot.
The Pentagon is seeking applications from researchers to help them develop technology that can be implanted into living insects to control their movement and transmit video or other sensory data back to their handlers.’
`You know the drill. Every 14th of February you get the chance to display your fondness for a significant other by showering her with gifts, flowers, dinner, shows and any other baubles that women find romantic. Every Valentines day you rack your brains for that one special, unique gift that will show your wife or girlfriend that you really do care for them more than any other. Now ladies, I’ll let you in on a little secret; guys really don’t enjoy this that much. Sure seeing that smile on your face when we get it right is priceless, but that smile is the result of weeks of blood, sweat and consideration. Another secret; guys feel left out. That’s right, there’s no special holiday for the ladies to show their appreciation for the men in their life. Men as a whole are either too proud or too embarrassed to admit it.
Which is why a new holiday has been created.
March 14th is now officially “Steak and Blowjob Day”. Simple, effective and self explanatory, this holiday has been created so you ladies finally have a day to show your man how much you care for him.’
‘Bill Dance Outdoors fishing show. This guy just cant catch a break or a fish for that matter.’
(5meg Windows media)
‘Check out the guy in the background watching his buddy wipe out on this stunt. That board could of bounced a thousand different ways but it chose the least favorable one for one unlucky bystander.’
(700kB Windows media)
‘A very eager reporter is attempting to run underneath the belly of a horse. I really think the horse knew exactly what it was doing. I think she’ll stick to the weather from now on.’
(673kB Windows media)
`Reporters who write about government surveillance could be prosecuted under proposed legislation that would solidify the administration’s eavesdropping authority, according to some legal analysts who are concerned about dramatic changes in U.S. law. [..]
The draft would add to the criminal penalties for anyone who “intentionally discloses information identifying or describing” the Bush administration’s terrorist surveillance program or any other eavesdropping program conducted under a 1978 surveillance law.
Under the boosted penalties, those found guilty could face fines of up to $1 million, 15 years in jail or both.
Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the measure is broader than any existing laws. She said, for example, the language does not specify that the information has to be harmful to national security or classified.’
If you don’t know who David Gilmour is you won’t care about these pictures. If you do know who David Gilmour is you still probably won’t care. I barely care. Don’t really know why I’m posting them at all. :)
`Four former inmates of the Citrus County Detention Facility filed a federal lawsuit against the private company that runs the jail, alleging two former officers put human waste in their food and drinks.
The inmates were subject to cruel punishment, torture and battery in 2004, when they were forced to eat the food contaminated with urine and feces, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tampa.
A spokesman for Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America said the company took immediate action once it heard about the incident.
“Management immediately investigated and terminated three employees right there and then,” company spokesman Steve Owen said Saturday. “The company does have a zero-tolerance policy for conduct of that nature.”‘
`Download direct from most video sites
You can download from:
Angry Alien, ArtistDirect, Blastro, Blennus, Blip.tv, Bofunk, Bolt, Break.com, Castpost, Dailymotion, DevilDucky, FindVideos, Free Video Blog, Google Video, Grinvi, Grouper, iFilm, LuluTV, Metacafe, Midis.biz, Music.com, MusicVideoCodes.info, MySpace Video Code, PcPlanets, Pixparty, Putfile, REVVER, Sharkle, StreetFire, That Video Site, The One Network, VideoCodes4U, VideoCodesWorld, VideoCodeZone, vidiLife, VIDNET.com, Vimeo, Web62.com, YouTube and ZippyVideos.’
`Among his less successful exploits was failing to conceal an offensive weapon when, following a confrontation at a pub, an axe fell from where it was hidden up his sleeve. Regulars were able to identify McGregor since the incident happened at his local.
On another occasion he successfully passed off a fake £10 note at a Co-op store, but was caught after he was heard saying “I got a result” as he left the shop, where he was a regular customer and staff knew his name.
He once tried to use a stolen bank card to buy 400 cigarettes and get £50 cashback at his local Asda. Staff were suspicious because the card was in a woman’s name.’
`I am pretty convinced now that life exists outside the Earth. At the very least, there is an exotic type of life on earth of which we have been totally unware until now. The pictures of the “red rain” particles have convinced me. Scroll down to ogle them.
The best article so far on the the “red rain” phenomenon is in New Scientist. The Observer had a decent article too. An Indian scientist, Dr. Godfrey Louis, thinks the red particles found in the rain are the remnants of a meteorite that exploded. He further thinks that they might be extraterrestrial life forms.
The New Scientist article linked to his full-length paper that is to appear in the peer-reviewed journal Astrophysics and Space Science. Intrigued, I took a look at his paper. It is surprisingly readable considering it’s meant for a journal.
The paper has lots of very interesting photos (New Scientist published one — the only pic in the paper that was in color). I have cut-n-pasted the photos from the paper below. They are pretty amazing and deserve wide exposure.’
followup to Red rain could prove that aliens have landed.
`Police cracking down on flying kites arrested more than 1,400 people over three days at a springtime festival held across eastern Pakistan, an official said.
The kite ban was imposed by provincial authorities after seven people were fatally slashed by kite strings that had been reinforced with wire or glass fibre in the run-up to the annual Basant festival.
While some people resisted the ban, there was only a sprinkling of kites over the city today — a small fraction of the thousands of kites seen in previous years.’
`List of online free tools that help us to program, design, develope, optimize, etc.’
I always like playing with things like these.. Haven’t looked at any of the tools yet, but some of them are bound to be useful for something. :)
`It’s official: Solar minimum has arrived. Sunspots have all but vanished. Solar flares are nonexistent. The sun is utterly quiet.
Like the quiet before a storm.
This week researchers announced that a storm is coming–the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). “The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one,” she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.’
`Everyone seemed to enjoy the Garfield cartoons I posted, featuring the removal of Garfield’s speech ballons, which turns Jon into a sad and lonely individual talking to a normal cat. So, here’s some more, chronicling Jon’s spiral into depression and eventually madness. It’s what Jim Davis wanted.’
`A man who portrayed himself as an avenging angel for child sex-crime victims was sentenced to more than 44 years in prison Friday for killing two sex offenders.
Michael A. Mullen, 36, escaped a potential life sentence in a plea deal reached this week, ending a case considered one of the nation’s worst cases of vigilantism against sex offenders.
Mullen had confessed to the high-profile killings in letters to the news media, expressing a desire to be executed as a symbol of retribution against sex offenders.’
`Tonight I noticed that mars.google.com now has a CNAME record that points to www.google.com. This usually means that something is about to happen with that subdomain — with the exception of calendar.google.com of course. So I started digging and you will never guess what I found — a Google Maps type application that lets you view Mars. This service is called “Google Mars”.’
`The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Corp. is suing a division of Walt Disney, Buena Vista Motion Pictures and a film production company for infringing on its trademark in the development and production of “Wild Hogs,” a comedy about middle-aged bikers.
The motorcycle club says in the suit that it never approved Walt Disney Motion Picture Group’s use of its trademark, and that the film studio has repeatedly exploited the Hell’s Angels name as well as its trademark design featuring a helmeted, horned and feathered skull while publicizing the “Wild Hogs” movie.’
Nice choice of background music..
I managed to touch 108 balls before I got caught. Not so bad..
BTW, it’s safe for work. Not quite so bad as the title suggests. :)
‘A conversation between two Japanese guys, one whom has returned from a trip from Australia and explains their global practical joke.’
moonbuggy is proudly powered by WordPress.
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS). 59 queries. 0.229 seconds.