moonbuggy

‘An elementary school science teacher in this Chicago suburb doesn’t have to turn on the news for an update on NASA’s space mission. She just turns on her video baby monitor.

Since Sunday, one of the two channels on Natalie Meilinger’s baby monitor has been picking up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis. The other still lets her keep an eye on her baby.

“Whoever has a baby monitor knows what you’ll usually see,” Meilinger said. “No one would ever expect this.”

Live video of the mission is available on NASA’s Web site, so it’s possible the monitor is picking up a signal from somewhere.’

(1.5meg Flash video)

see it here »

‘A man who spent five years in jail for exposing sexual partners to HIV was sentenced to life in prison for knowingly exposing another woman to the virus.

Sean L. Sykes, 33, was sentenced Tuesday. He was found guilty in May of having unprotected sex with a St. Joseph woman without telling her he was HIV-positive. Testimony at his trial — which was closed to the public to protect witnesses — indicated that he had exposed at least eight women to HIV. At least three have tested positive.

“I think it’s fairly clear he is a very dangerous individual,” Buchanan County Prosecutor Dwight Scroggins said after the sentencing. “If he is not in prison, he would likely continue to spread HIV.”‘

‘Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.

His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.

To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.

Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers — backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks.

They’re also caught in a web of little-known state laws that can stifle energy independence.’

‘A new diet promises to slim folks down with sexy results.

The so-called diet book “The Ultimate Sex Diet” (True Courage) requires that lovers engage in sex to burn off the pounds. Author Kerry McCloskey says your partner becomes your nutritionist, psychologist and personal trainer.

There are sexual positions like the “Let’s Get Crazy” position where the legs of the woman are on top of the man’s shoulders. McCloskey says this one tones the man’s arms and the woman’s tummy.

She designed and followed the diet and lost 23 pounds in six months. [..]

At the very worst, she says the diet can make a good pickup line: “I have a new sex diet and I need someone to help me out.”‘

I wish I was a slinky.

(6.1meg Windows media)

see it here »

‘CIA and FBI agents hunting for al Qaeda militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.

Human rights groups, lawyers and several Western diplomats assert hundreds of prisoners, who include women and children, have been transferred secretly and illegally in recent months from Kenya and Somalia to Ethiopia, where they are kept without charge or access to lawyers and families.

The detainees include at least one U.S. citizen and some are from Canada, Sweden and France, according to a list compiled by a Kenyan Muslim rights group and flight manifests obtained by AP.’

‘Russian men are risking death by drinking aftershave and cleaning agents, a study has suggested.

UK researchers estimated that half of all deaths in working age men in the country are due to hazardous drinking.

The products, which also include herbal tinctures sold in pharmacies, are widely available, cheap and contain up to 97% alcohol, the Lancet study says.

It was found that they contain very few toxins but are deadly simply because of the extreme alcohol levels.

Russian men have an “exceptionally low” life expectancy of 59 years, compared with 72 years for women.’

‘A judge has ruled that a 24-year-old Canadian man is not allowed to have a girlfriend for the next three years.

The ruling came after Steven Cranley pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several charges stemming from an assault on a former girlfriend.

Cranley, who has been diagnosed with a dependent personality disorder, attacked his girlfriend in an argument after their breakup.

He tried to prevent her from phoning the police by cutting her phone cord and punched and kicked her. He finally stabbed himself with a butcher knife when police did arrive, puncturing his aorta.

Doctors say Cranley has difficulty coping with rejection and runs a high risk to re-offend if he becomes involved in another intimate relationship.’

‘A flood-isolated Australian town was in danger of running out of beer this week until emergency volunteers came to their rescue.

Residents of Hinton, New South Wales, were stranded following the severe storms that hit the region on Sunday.

There was concern that their pub would run dry before a rugby league match which was due to be played between New South Wales and Queensland.

But the State Emergency Services boated in a huge beer delivery just in time.’

‘A woman who ripped off her ex-boyfriend’s testicle with her bare hands has been sent to prison.

Amanda Monti, 24, flew into a rage when Geoffrey Jones, 37, rejected her advances at the end of a house party, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

She pulled off his left testicle and tried to swallow it, before spitting it out. A friend handed it back to Mr Jones saying: “That’s yours.”

Monti admitted wounding and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Sentencing Monti, Judge Charles James said it was “a very serious injury” and that Monti was not acting in self defence.’

Followup to Ex rips off man’s testicle.

(6.0meg Flash video)

see it here »

‘A friend of mine happened to live in a students’ flat where such a thing happened: the landlord basically made them cram a bunch of stuff, which usually was in the main hallway, into a room that was too small for it, while in the same flat three rooms were completely empty, but locked. Luckily, the guy could lockpick his way into a room, but he asked me for a way to be able to re-lock it without the key and without anything suspicious being visible from the outside.

After some brainstorming, we came up with a James Bond-worthy concept: knock on the door in a certain fashion, and the door’ll open automatically. The idea was perfect: no need to drill holes, sneaky enough so the landlord wouldn’t accidentally trigger it, easy enough to remember.’

‘Gekisen is a game with limitless posibilities and strategic depth that will challenge your mental and decision making skills.’

(1.8meg Shockwave)

‘Two American teenage girls were ordered off a city bus in Portland, Oregon, by the driver who called them “sickos” because they exchanged a kiss.

The girls, aged 14, said they were kicked off the TriMet bus on Monday after they exchanged a kiss as they travelled home from school.

After another passenger complained, the driver called them “sickos” and told them to “knock it off”, US media reported.

One of the girls told television station KTVZ that her friend was upset by the driver so she gave her a hug.

The driver then ordered them off the bus.’

It looks like one of the boats was trying to show off and go for a splash through the wake of another.

(3.6meg Windows media)

see it here »

‘for the purposes of this project, we’re using a pretty broad (and to some extent, arbitrary) definition of “passive-aggressive” that roughly correlates with how the term is popularly used. (most people don’t go diving for the dsm IV when someone describes his or her roommate as “so passive-aggressive” — or “so antisocial” or “so sadistic” or “so schizo,” for that matter.)

truly, some of the notes found here aren’t really passive-aggressive even by our generous standards. some are really more aggressive in tone, and some of them are more passive — polite, even – but they all share a common sense of frustration that’s been channeled into written form rather than a direct confrontation.’

‘A Philadelphia reporter is fighting back against a man who made her private life — including her underwear drawer — public. [..]

Comedian Danny Ozark then snuck away and rifled through Cahn’s underwear drawer and later talked about the experience on a Philadelphia radio station. [..]

“After telling our viewers to stand up for themselves and fight back, I didn’t think I could just sit around without calling out the guy who rummaged through my underwear drawer,” said Cahn.

So Cahn and a camera crew went to the apartment Ozark shares with his father, Arthur Goldman.

Goldman let them in, and apologized for his son’s actions.

“That was in bad taste. I feel bad about that,” Goldman told them.’

‘A 17-year-old Livermore boy was seriously injured Monday night in Mt. Diablo State Park when he tried to fake a fall for a camera and then actually fell 75 feet onto rocks, a park ranger said Tuesday.

The teenager was on Sentinel Rock, a vertical formation near Rock City popular for its views, when he moved outside the handrail, lost his footing and fell into a crevice and became wedged between rocks, San Ramon Valley Fire District Battalion Chief Mike Brown said.

Friends of the boy, who is hospitalized with multiple traumatic injuries, told rescuers he had been trying to stage a photo of a fake fall for a MySpace Web site when he slipped and fell for real, said Dan Stefanisko, supervising ranger at Mt. Diablo State Park.’

‘A 14-year-old boy was arrested after dialing a wrong number and offering to sell drugs to the person on the other end — who happened to be a police detective.

After the call, Gulfport detective Matt Parks arranged to meet the teen in the parking lot of a school to buy an ounce of marijuana and some crack cocaine, a police report said. When the boy showed up, he was arrested on charges of possession of 18 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. [..]

Parks’ phone number is unlisted, and there were no similar phone numbers found in the boy’s cell phone, police said. Detectives said the boy, whose name was not released, likely dialed a random number to try to drum up new business.’

Steve Schirripa from the Sopranos has some advice for Paris Hilton.

(907kB Flash video)

see it here »

‘Telling apart relatives from strangers is crucial in many animal species, helping them to share precious resources or avoid inbreeding. Now it seems that plants can perform the same trick.

Plants have already been shown to compete with others — of their own kind or of another species — when sharing space. For example, they sometimes choose to invest more energy in sprouting roots when they have nearby competition for water and nutrients.

Now, Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, have shown that plants grown alongside unrelated neighbours are more competitive than those growing with their siblings — ploughing more energy into growing roots when their neighbours don’t share their genetic stock.’

‘It soon will be a crime in this Cajun-country town to let the waistband of your pants sag too low in public.

Mayor Carol Broussard has said he will sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.

Broussard said he has nothing against saggy pants but thinks people who wear them should use discretion. “It’s gotten way out of hand out here,” he said. [..]

Broussard’s advice for people who like their pants to hang low: “Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you’ll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They’re better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress.”‘

‘A teenager with a brown belt in karate used a samurai sword to scare off a burglar who was after his PlayStation 3 video game console.

Last Friday afternoon, Damian Fernandez and his 15-year-old sister, Deanne Fernandez, were home alone at their northwest Miami-Dade County home while their parents were at work when they heard knocking on the front door. Moments later, two men were prying the front door unlocked, prompting Deanne to hide in her closet. [..]

“Once I saw him take off running back, I jumped off my (bunk) bed and I grabbed my sword … and I just waited for him,” he said.

Damian said he lunged at him with his samurai sword, striking him in the chest.

“He freaked out,” Damian said.

The burglar ran out of the house with Damian chasing him down the road. When police arrived, a K-9 officer located the burglar hiding behind a neighbor’s palm tree. The second burglar got away.’

This is from the Britain’s Got Talent TV show. Good job.

(12.0meg Windows media)

see it here »

‘A 16-year-old Sacramento boy spent nearly eight hours on a busy intersection Tuesday holding a sign that read, in part, “I’m stupid.”

On Sunday night, Dominiq Drye, 16, came home from hanging out with some friends. His mother, Christine Drye, said she knew immediately something was wrong. “His eyes were red and glossy,” said Drye. “I knew something wasn’t right.”

Dominiq eventually admitted he had smoked some marijuana. His mother said this wasn’t the first time. “I’ve tried taking things, I’ve tried other punishment. It’s not working,” she said.

So Drye decided to try something different, something extreme. [..]’

‘Decatur police are trying to determine how a one-ton municipal dump truck wound up at the bottom of the Point Mallard Park’s wave pool.

Police said they suspect a maintenance worker could have been responsible for submerging the vehicle in the 8-foot-deep pool at the J. Gilmer Blackburn Aquatic Center. A wrecker service was called in to haul it out of the water.

Officers noticed several garbage bags floating in the water about 5 a.m. Sunday and had to move close to make out the shadowy object at the bottom. They said a gate was open and there were two sets of tire tracks, one leading up a ramp to the wave pool, the other appearing to match a white pickup parked nearby.

Police said an empty beer can, an unidentified vial and a pair of blue swim trunks also were found. The truck could have been driven into the pool as early as 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to police.’

‘A 45-tonne bowhead whale caught off the Alaskan coast last month had a weapon fragment embedded in its neck that showed it survived a similar hunt – more than a century ago.

Embedded deep under its blubber was a 13-centimetre arrow-shaped projectile that has given researchers insight into the whale’s age, estimated between 115 and 130 years old.

“No other finding has been this precise,” said John Bockstoce, an adjunct curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts.

Calculating a whale’s age can be difficult, and is usually gauged by amino acids in the eye lenses. It is rare to find one that has lived more than a century, but experts say the oldest were close to 200 years old.’

Camera footage from a different angle shows Bush taking the watch off himself.

Far less amusing than someone stealing it from his arm.

Followup to White House ends mystery over Bush’s watch.

(1.7meg Flash video)

see it here »

‘In an astounding development that has completely failed to register any attention amongst mainstream U.S. media, China promised to escalate preparations for war in advance of a potential conflict, after President Bush shook hands with a Taiwanese government official yesterday.

Bush shook hands and met with Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Joseph Wu, on Tuesday, during a commemoration for victims of Communism in Washington DC.

In a headline story that aired at 10pm Shanghai time Wednesday night on the Hong Kong based PHTV news channel, Chinese government leaders threatened to plan new war games and heighten military readiness in anticipation of any attempt by the U.S. to defend Taiwan should a Chinese invasion occur, or simply if Taiwan declares its independence.’

‘A 25-year-old Hilton Head Island man is accused of breaking into an apartment and then calling his mom for a ride home from the crime scene.

An alert neighbor heard someone scurrying around in an upstairs apartment at Cordillo Courts, 104 Cordillo Parkway, and followed the pair all the way to New Orleans Road, where a deputy caught up to them, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s report.

Isaac Talavera, Jr., 25, of 26 Forest Cove, was charged with second-degree burglary after officers found 13 pairs of socks, two cell phones, two tank tops, cigarettes, car keys, a watch and vehicle titles stolen from the apartment at 3:52 p.m., Thursday, the report stated.’