Elephant (h)ears

We all know the joke about elephants making "trunk calls" but apparently there's something else scientists now know about elephants ... although they have large ears, they apparently also use their feet for hearing calls from other herds - and they react most if the calls come from elephants they know.

Bus help

I was checking out goods at the convenience store near the bus stop this afternoon when I noticed someone - familiar but not - waving from the doorway and trying to attract my attention. It turned out to be a fellow traveller on my usual bus and she had spied the bus coming up fast and thought I might miss it - hence the warning. What a lovely person!

Not getting your goat

In Jurassic Park they used a goat to lure Tyrannosaurus Rex out. In India they're using a similar method to capture leopards which wander out ofthe jungle into villages and sometimes attack people.
But this time they're using special effects ... mobile phone ringtones of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing. Local rangers download the tones, attach their phones to speakers behind a cage then play the sound continuously until the leopard arrives, and walks into the cage looking for the animal. The method was introduced last month and already 5 leopards have been captured and released back into forest areas. Wildlife activists welcomed the new initiative saying that previous methods of trapping the cats using pits often resulted in the animals getting injured - and it wasn't very good for the goats either!

Potter power

Missing girl Madeleine McCann's parents have made indirect approaches to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to include a bookmark with a photograph of Madeleine in the new, and last in the series, Potter book due out on 21 July. Ms Rowling is said to be considering the proposal - which is part of the ongoing attempt by the McCann's to keep their daughter's disappearance firmly in the public eye in the hope that someone may come forward with information that will reunite them with their daughter.

Corgi and mash

British artist Mark McGowan likes projects he can get his teeth into - like corgis. In a protest aimed at probably the world's most famous owner of corgis, the Queen, Mr McGowan ate meatballs made from a dead corgi to protest against animal cruelty - specifically '"that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of which the royal family is a patron, had not prosecuted Prince Philip, the Queen's husband, for hunting and killing a fox" (Reuters & Sky News). Apparently the corgi, which is reported to have died from natural causes, may not become a favoured repast as it "tasted terrible". But hopefully his next project will remove any remnants of bad taste. He's to be buried in a box under about a metre of mashed potato. He did not say why.

Titanic - an interactive experience

... That would be the old type of interactive experience ... i.e. the wonderful world of paper engineering and pop-up books. I have somewhere in my collection two fabulous books by Jan Pienkowsi (not sure of that spelling) who does the most wonderfully detailed pop-up books. But back to the Titanic. While walking through various bookstores in Newtown today I came across the Titanic book - perfectly sized for a coffee table book with its eye-catching silver cover. As well as pop-ups throughout, including one of the ship which folds out on either end, there are un-covers and slides-ups.
Other curios seen on my bookshop trek were a watch with the numbers in randon order, a storybook for Shrek the Third including 40 images from the movie (I didn't look at this closely - I'm planning to go to the movie when it is released later this week and didn't want to spoil any of its surprises), a Moleskin City book where it comes with a map of the city eg London, and lots of blank pages so you can fill in all the details of your stay there. There was also a new version Kama Sutra (not sure if it was illustrated or not); The Erotic Museum of Berlin - which was on a shelf too high up for me to reach; a collection of old Dickens' volumes; and a talking book on Neuro Linguistic Program(m)ing. I could also have purchased a mini construction kit for my desk, or "The Writers Block" which was filled with ideas which, should they stall, would get one's creative juices flowing again. Oh, and an Itty Bitty Buddha (in a tin).

Time off

I read somewhere last week that some US prisoners currently serving life sentences want the death penalty. More detail than that would be helpful - but I can now not find reference to the article - but I do know that I read it the same day I read that Jack Kervorkian had been released from prison. This raised the question - what if Kervorkian had not been released early (for good behaviour) but had been transferred to those prisons where the long-term inmates would prefer their stay not be so "long term". Funny too that there would be such a thing as "good behaviour" if you've been imprisoned for what some consider "bad" behaviour eg assisting terminally ill people to kill themselves.

Fantastic work

It's car registration time again and this year has turned out to be easier than I could ever have imagined. Who knew that you could register on-line even if you needed a safety inspection because your vehicle is 'old'? Thankfully my mechanic did and, sure enough, by the time I logged in to the RTA site they had received details of my insurance and registration inspection. It was easy then to check details, give credit card info and rejoice in another job I wouldn't have to do on Saturday morning. Well done RTA.

Shot but still at large

But before getting on to the monitor lizard which is still at large somewhere in Florida - it was shot twice but escaped before local police could get to it - who knew there had been an alligator at large in Los Angeles for two years. It "a media darling named 'Reggie'"was finally captured aka "wrestled into captivity" last week. But back to Florida where more than a Disney land is in the offing. The 4-foot lizard had been in the neighbourhood for some months, and although it hadn't bitten anyone, authorities believed it posed a risk to animals and children. Locals agree ... they are keeping their children and pets indoors un til proof of the lizard's demise (its carcass) is produced. (Do follow the link to read about Reggie's life in the wild - and his capture which included live TV helicopter footage of his passage to the zoo!)

Last Supper

It's an interesting notion as raised by Wired in May 1999 (who said I was behind with my reading?) ... they were commenting on Da Vinci's Last Supper and that it has been restored so many times over the years that purists argue that it is no longer a Da Vinci. This reminds me of an axe at the Tower of London that Darien, a colleague at work talks about, that has had it's handle and head replaced so many times, it really is no longer the original, genuine article. I wonder how many important historical artifacts or relics are like this?

Missed opportunity

When talking with my brother yesterday, I mentioned the "Significant Date" and he suggested it would be fun to actually schedule a meeting with someone for then. Darn ... I wish I'd thought of that, rather than taking a rather trivial interest in it!

Significant date

What's special about 31 August 4500? It's the last date you can make an appointment in Microsoft Outlook. (Thanks Colin.) Stay tuned for more exciting trivia!

A disappointment of sorts

A few weeks ago a rocket carrying the ashes of Star Trek actor James Doohan blasted into space - something "Scotty" was never able to do. Alas, it didn't leave him there as I had (mis)understood from the initial reports. Instead, as planned, the rocket and its cargo returned to earth in New Mexico in its designated recovery zone 20 days after Connecticut-based UP Aerospace sent it up. The rocket had achieved 4 minutes of sub-orbital flight so "Scotty" did get to space - just not for that long.

Prayer-conditioning

Back in March (I know this has been a while coming ... but better late than never) British church property specialists Congregational & General Insurance ran a competition to find the number one religious slogan - you know, the puns found on notice boards outside churches like "Fight truth decay"; "Come in for a free faith lift"; "Chxxch -- Have you guessed what's missing.UR!" and "God, you're great!". The prizemoney was worth $US985 (or the equivalent in British pounds). I had a look on the net to see if a winner had been announced yet - but, no luck. However, the good news (heh heh) is that you can buy a book of church signs.

What I learned today

I often wish I had a little more time for surfing the internet because you never know what you will find out. Take today ... I started at antisf.com (reading some speculative flash fiction) and followed a link from one of the author's bios to their website. Once there, I had a look at some of his links - including Real Life Horror Stories - about the bombing of Dresden, and then Images. The image that intrigued me was of Ayers Rock aka Uluru - which I have often seen in photos - but never from the top and which I have always assumed was cigar-shaped (as noted by Andrew J Lloyd - whose website it is). And here's the more traditional view for comparison:
It would be interesting to know which side is shown here. I'm thinking top right of the triangle, but it's hard to know.

But is it art?

Paris Hilton has been the subject of much news lately, but she's also been the subject of art ... as a "prom queen of the dead" which sculptor Daniel Edwards says is a warning against driving while drunk. In his sculpture, the heiress is shown naked, dead, cell phone in hand, tiara on head, and legs asunder, or what that be akimbo, or possibly even apart. Other works by the same artist include a giant head of Cuban President Fidel Castro, and a life-size nude of Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug. (Thanks to the annals of Reuters, Oddly Enough, for this tidbit.)

Taking the Mickey (Mouse)

His ears are smaller and jowls bigger but it's definitely a Mickey Mouse lookalike (aka Farfur) now appearing on Hamas TV telling kids to drink their milk and pray, oh, and there's also something about arming themselves with AK-47s and striving for world domination "under Islamic leadership". Use of the character has been dubbed "pure evil" by Diane Disney Miller, the only surviving Walt Disney child.

An exercise in home invasion

A South African man found himself in a sticky situation last week when armed robbers ransacked his house and drank his best Whiskey. They also made him strip before they superglued him to an exercise bike and glued his mouth shut! Despite the awfulness of this, it does seem like it could be a way to get the exercise-averse motivated - especially if you believe The Simpsons episode where Bart glues novelty items to his face and Dr Hibbard removes them by making Bart break out in a perspiration of pure terror.

Passing time

It's become a tourist attraction of sorts - an elderly man in a remote village in India who spends his days lying in a grave, waiting to die. He's been doing it for six years now - ever since his wife died in the late 1990's. After he buried her, he dug his own grave nearby, and settled in to wait for an as yet elusive death to claim him.

The deep questions

The Associated Press recently obtained a document from NASA (the American space agency) under US Freedom of Information laws. Based on the report written about it (and it would have been nice if I could have found the original article not a report on the report), the document would make interesting reading . It focuses on "what to do" or 'how would you handle" and it raises questions (but doesn't necessarily answer them) about issues to be addressed should NASA mount missions to "deep space" eg:

• If an astronaut dies on the 3-year mission to Mars, what do you do with the body.
• How long do you keep an injured/ill astronaut on life support especially if they're using up all the oxygen!
• Should genetic testing be done to exclude astronauts who might contract a disease en route?
• Should preventative surgery, eg appendectomies, be mandatory for prospective astronauts?
• How do you cope with URST (unreleased sexual tension) en route with mixed and/or same-sex crews?
• How do you cope with astronauts break-ups (romantic and otherwise)
• Should there be an astronaut age limit?

Cough it up

A report in today's The Daily Telegraph tells of a man on a flight from Vietnam to Australia who started to become ill - and then coughed up a nylon bag of white powder which was suspected to be heroin. The plane, already an hour into the trip to Australia, returned to Vietnam where the man coughed up two more bags of white powder after the plane made an emergency landing. 30 more bags of the powder were found in the man's stomach.

India in the news

Burning of witches seems to be something that should have stopped somewhere way back in history, but it's still happening in India according to a recent Reuter reports. Dozens of women accused of witchcraft are burned each year in India. The latest was a couple who were burnt to death after villagers accused them of practicing black magic, tied them together on a pyre and set them on fire. Both were farm laborers near the southern city of Hyderabad who also practiced traditional medicine. Six villagers have since been arrested.
Still in India, the Supreme Court there has been a stay on the death sentence of a former politician who shot his "unfaithful wife", dismembered her, and roasted her in the tandoori oven of a restaurant. The man is appealing against his death sentence.

Cat 1, Post Service 0

I know one of our cats sometimes seems to have a split personality - rolling over to receive pats one minute, and then lashing out with claws the next - so I believe the Canada Post service which ways it can no longer deliver to a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after a mail carrier was scared away by a "very threatening cat". Shadow's owner has a very different view of the eight-year-old, declawed, black cat. He (that would be Shadow) is docile, "likes to eat and sleep and cuddle. You could drop a bomb and he'd just open one eye, take a look, then close them and go back to sleep," owner Samborski, told a local paper (as reported by Reuters). Hmm a likely story - but anyone who nhas cats know they are capable of secret lives and activities!

War dead

You'd feel pretty lucky to have survived tours of both Iraq and Afghanistan - but perhaps not so much if you were attached to the 763rd Maintenance Squadron. While the squad has not a wartime casualty on location, three of its members have died on home soil in the last two years. The earlier two were from traffic accidents, the latest the shooting of Senior Airman R'Chardrick Markray, 22, who had served a total of 360 days overseas. A second man was also shot and wounded outside the baby shower in a residential neighbourhood in Las Vegas. No suspects, or motive, have yet been identified.

Just a bit to the left

Instructions of where to sit are usually issued at dinner parties and when someone's posing you - but reports of a different type of set-up is in the news today. It seems a man in the US asked his estranged wife Carolyn to sit near the front window of the house and told her he'd be right back. He was right about that - except he left out one tiny detail - that he'd be back with his pickup truck through the front wall of the house in an alleged attempt to kill her. The woman was not injured in the event and she, and her daughter, escaped out the back door. The husband, David E. Monroe, has been charged with attempted murder, criminal recklessness with a vehicle and disorderly conduct.
It seems this was not the first inkling that something was awry. Carolyn told police that she and her teenage daughter had already fled because he had threatened to kill her. It's not clear if it was then or after this attempt that Monroe told police he hoped his wife died and that "I hope to go to prison for this."

Rubik's remembered

Do you still have your Rubik's cube tucked away somewhere? Do you drag it out every so often to practice - and see if you can beat your previous personal best - or the current world record of 10.36 seconds. Yes, that was 10.36 SECONDS. Of course, to get speeds like this the chances are that you'd have to lubricate your cube with silicone spray and/or loosen the screws to make them faster - and do lots and lots of practice. And when you're down to your best speed - why not try something a bit different - like doing solving the cube blindfolded (record: 1 minute 42 seconds).
Me, I'll just settle for getting solving it once. Looks like I might have to think about investing in another cube - bringing Hasbro's total sales of the plastic cubes ever closer to 300 million. Or I could just use the Sudoku cube that's currently in local shops - oops not enough colours.

The big cheese

Well, there was a good possibility it was not going to be an internet success - but that seems to not be the case. So to find out what all the fuss is about, check out the cheesiest show on a television and join the 1 million other visitors who are watching cheese ripen. The Westcombe cheddar from West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers has been on the net since February and has attracted visitors from 119 countries. There's still time to visit - it takes a year for the cheese to mature. Or you can follow the link from their site to see the timelapse of progress to date on YouTube.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it - whether there are sites out there where you can watch grass grow, or paint dry.

Hawking takes flight

Professor Stephen Hawking has realised a lifelong ambition - to fly in space. He went in a specially modified Boeing 727 which took off and landed from the space shuttle's runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The plane did parabolic manoeuvres (big ascents and descents - commonly know as 'vomit comets') and it is during these that the feeling of weightlessness occurs. The flight was with US firm Zero Gravity which reportedly waived the usal fee ($US3,750) for the Professor. So, the question is - is it worth that money to find out if my Fisher Space Pen really will write in space (or maybe that's what the Professor was trying to find out).

Karaoke rules

A recent headline on one of the weird news sites was "Plumber breaks karaoke record". I didn't follow it up - fear it be about the plumber actually breaking A karaoke record ... afterall there are some who might say that ALL of them should be broken so never again would the human race be forced to listen to ... but I'm not one of them!

Random musings

• How close to your own reality would another dimension need to be for you to stay? Reference Homer Simpson's world without donuts - but perfect otherwise - and Mallory Quinn's where everything looked okayn except that in this reality his father was still alive.
• If you lost your pressurised suit in space, apparently you wouldn't explode - yes, you may bloat a bit, but besides that you'd be preserved forever. Well, that's what they say, but, really, how do they know?
• I'm not sure if the ultime leap of faith would be letting someone else pack your parachute - or rolling your own.
• What moment in your life has been the "most cinematic"?

Just taking a look

Amora, an erotic museum has just opened in London - joining a growing list of major cities with one. So what are the others? Best not to try to find out from the work computer - especially using 'erotic museum' as the search string. A sure way to have the corporate filter kick in.

A thought ot two

Mortin Williams, a Californian psychologist, said of the recent Virginia Tech massacre that Cho's ramblings were similar to those of Charles Manson but unlike Manson, Cho had no ability or inclination to organise or inspire followers.
Initial media coverage of the event: was it the "girl who sparked a massacre" or the "victim - 18 year old country girl"? (Police now report that there was no apparent link between the gunman and his first female victim.)
The death toll from Virginia Tech - 32 or 33. The number varies depending on whether that particular media outlet is counting the gunman's death in the total.

Appearance opportunity

Kate Moss will pose as a mannequin in a shop window in London to launch her new range of clothing. As she was paid $7 million for the range, guess that makes her no dummy.

Superman is a Serb ...

Kryptonite, or something very like it, has been found in Serbia - prompting proud countryfolk to claim Superman as their own. Granted, that they also took it as scientific proof of their being God's children may have been a trifle excessive but the discovery of sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide was cause for celebration. Pity though that the newly discovered mineral is white, not standard Kryptonite green and that the new find cannot be called Kryptonite. Under international naming rules, that's already taken - by krypton the gas (a real element on the Periodic Table).
NOTE: this is not the first time there have been rumours of Superman in Siberia. Way back in August 2005, Ananova carried reports of a Serbian Superman.

Quote of note

Each month in our corporate Thinking Matters! publication, there's a section called: Ingenuity Quotes of the Month. I thought I'd share one from this month's:

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand": Ansel
Easton Adams, American prolific black and white photographer, 1980.

Break-up

On the occasion of my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary it's no surprise to realise that relationships are seldom lasting that long these days. What will be a surprise is that if you're in Berlin, and wanting to end a relationship, you can engage the services of one Bernd Dressler, who will deliver the message that "it's over" to your not-so-anymore-loved one. The service will cost you 50 euros - and as he told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper (as reported by Reuters) he's ended 200 relationships in the last 11 months. Breaking the bad news only takes about three minutes and often leaves the message recipients in a state of shock, said Dressler, a trained economist. People wanting to dump their partners in person can make use of coaching sessions given by Dressler, who also offers help for those wanting to save their relationships or apologize for going astray.
So what ever happened to breaking up by text message?

Out of Order

I chanced upon Law and Order: Criminal Intent while I was checking out our new digital set-top box last night - and saw a familiar face. After some time trying to work out who the actor was, it finally dawned that it was in fact Michelle Trachtenberg who played Buffy the Vampire Slayer's sister Dawn . In the Law & Order ep, she was playing Weeping Willow - an aspiring actress - which is strange because one of the other characters on Buffy was called ... Willow. Very confusing! But at least my facial recognition skills are improving (a little). Could it be that the Advanced Brain Training program I purchased for the Palm is starting to work - after only 3 days!?
I have thought about buying a Nintendo DS for a while - it's a handheld computer game - because it has a "brain training" program so when I received a promotional email from PalmGear earlier tbhis week with an for Mobile Brain Trainer - I thought it was worth a look. But talk about frustrating! It has 3 modules when you start - and the choice of two coaches - each with different styles. (But if it's working ....)

Big Fish

There is so much doom and gloom in the media at the moment, that it's interesting to see the stories that aren't making the front pages:

Miami - Sharon Touchton, 50, canoeist was found injured face-down in the water in Florida's Suwannee River recently. When asked what had happened she simply said "big fish". Chalk up another one - bringing their total to 11 - for the local sturgeon, which jump out of the river, hitting people. Sturgeon can grow to 2.5m long and weigh 91kg - so you know when you've been hit in the face by one!

London - Omar Abdel-Gowd, 26, has amassed an impressive shoe collection - unfortunately some of it from robbing women of shoes they were wearing. Apparently Omar, a footwear fetishist, turned to robbery after moving to London and finding more "fashionable" women there. He walked free from court yesterday with a suspended sentence despite having a wardrobe "crammed with hundreds of shoes" when he was arrested.

Somewhere on the net: It's been said that the problem with global warming will be water - too much of it (flooding) or too little of it (drought). But the answer could be as simple as "look to the skies". Water has been detected for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet outside our Solar System. Now we just have to work out how to get it back here.

Seeing the light

The man at the next table at the cafe this morning was wearing magnifying glasses - the kind you can buy in a small tube from chemists or optometrists (or in an oversized pen if you're at OPSM at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast). They have standard magnifications eg 1x, 1.25x etc and they can cost up to about $50. So as I sat there I found myself thinking "that's a lot of money for a pair of glasses" - and then I remembered how much I paid for my last pair! No contest.

No bones about it

If only I'd know it was happening, and had a spare half a million dollars lying around, I could have now been the proud owner of the skeleton of a prehistoric mammoth. I wonder if it's like Ikea furniture - and you have to assemble it yourself? And how much would it cost to ship?
The $421,200 paid for the lot at a Christie's auction was a new world record.

200,000+

• The number of Australians who went on a cruise last year (up 18% on last year; 90% since 2002) - 221,000 to be exact.
• The number of people ticketed in New Jersey for last year for not wearing a seatbelt - 271,182.

Death tolls

In the news: 33 people dead following the Virginia Tech massacre; another 100+ dead from suicide bomber attacks in Iraq. Which is the greater tragedy? Could either have been prevented?

Day One

Today's Daily Telegraph carries the story of a 17-year-old plumbing apprentice's first day on the job in the UK. His soldering efforts turned to smoldering efforts after a spark from the torch he was using caused a fire which left the $12million mansion gutted. Even though his co-workers refused to say who was responsible for the conflagration, local residents had no such reservations. It's unclear whether the owner still plans to convert the house into a luxury hotel.

All quiet on the water front

Lloyd Godson, marine scientist, 29, emerged from a steel box at the bottom of a lake near Albury NSW yesterday. He had been there for 12 days, using solar panels (not sure how underwater) and pedaling a stationary bicycle to generate his own electricity (for his laptop for watching videos and using a wireless internet connection to communicate with schoolchildren around the world) and growing algae to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. But at least he had food and drinking water delivered - so he didn't just have to rely on recycling his urine and waste. And thanks to his efforts, he has won nearly $42,000 in the Australian Geographic "Live Your Dream" competition. Good one!

Jeepers Peepers

Details are sketchy, and mildly confusing, but it's good to know that Mr Peepers (the duck) came out of it all okay, despite being thrown in front of the getaway car. It all started in Seattle when Kenneth Blaine Quinlan and his girlfriend went to a Lynnwood shopping center, taking her duck with them. She went to one store (with her duck), he went to another - and apparently shoplifted an iPod speaker system. A guard chased Quinlan to where his girlfriend was - with the car keys, although it appears she was not aware of the circumstances when she handed them over. When she exited the store, she found Quinlan driving off and as she tried to stop him from driving away - still not aware of what was happening - she was knocked by an open car door, she dropped the duck. A store employee saw what was happening, that Mr Peepers was in danger of being run over, and ran to save him - only to have the car run over her instead, inflicting serious injuries including broken bones in her foot and ankle. The girlfriend and the guard fared better, and were not seriously injured. Mr. Peepers was OK. Quinlan was charger with two counts of third-degree assault and one count each of vehicular assault and hit-and-run. (More details here.)

Cleaning it up a bit ...

It gives street cleaning a whole new meaning ... and it's pretty amazing that it has happened in two US cities within a couple of days. The event - soap foam filling streets in cities in both Idaho and Alaska. In Boise, sudsy citrus-scented foam erupted from manhole covers like geysers after a linen company accidentally released 167 gallons of "harmless but concentrated" detergent into sewer lines. Meanwhile, in Wasilla, Alaska, foam spewed from the city's sewer lagoon, due, it was suggested, to ice thawing and the possibility that the treatment plant may have gotten a "good jolt" of soap residue. (For further details - Yahoo US News)

Women like to watch

News out this morning suggests that women are more interested in admiring (the Daily Telegraph used the word "ogle") body parts than men. In a study where US scientists used eye-tracking technology to pinpoint what people looked at when shown sexy photos (although there was no definition of what constituted a "sexy photo" in the report I read) it seems men were more likely to linger on the face. There was also a hormonal link with women using hormonal contraceptives looking more at the genitals. It is unclear how the study results would extrapolate to the wild (also known as "the real world") but I know one person who will feel that their long standing views are vindicated by this piece of research! (Hi T!)

Sea creatures

A 13-year-old girl is recovering in hospital following an attack by a sea lion. She was on a surfboard, being towed behind a boat, when the sea lion struck. She sustained a broken jaw, lost teeth, and a wound under her chin when the sea lion leapt out of the water and "went for her throat". The boat's driver is reported as saying that he thought the Perth (WA, Australia) teenager would die in the attack - likening it to a white pointer jumping out of the water. Previously, sea lions had been better known for their playfulness rather than savagery. Until, that is, the US Navy recruited them - and dolphins - as part of a program to detect terrorists and mines (underwater). Both species can find mines and spot swimmers in murky waters. Working in unison, the dolphins can drop a flashing light near a mine or a swimmer. The sea lions carry in their mouths a cable and a handcuff-like device that clamps onto a terrorist's leg. Sailors can then use the cable to reel in the terrorist. About 75 dolphins and 25 sea lions are housed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Harbor as part of the anti-terrorist program.

Band-Aid fix

He was known as the Band-Aid Bandit - and he's now been found guilty of robbing Florida banks of half a million dollars in league with his brother-in-law. I will probably need to go and find out more about this, but the short piece I saw on this at the Yahoo site suggested he wore bandages during robberies to hide a distinctive mole. Apparently the disguise was not effective - or perhaps there was another reason for his identity being uncovered.

Hard Act

A recent item in the Scotsman website told of "film bluffs" rather than "film buffs". Apparently 1 in 10 Britains lie about movies they've seen to appear more intellectual. Films they might say they had seen included Schindler's List, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. They also hide their fondness for Dirty Dancing or Ghost … so perhaps its really about their not wanting to admit they like Patrick Swayze films! I was rather taken with the "bluffs" play on words - so much so that I almost missed the funniest thing about this - but, thankfully, it was pointed out by two commenters. "10% eh? Slow day then." and "Lazy space filling nonsense. If I want to read rubbishy pointless muck, I'll subscribe to The Daily Record."

Hell on earth

Well for all who welcomed Pope John Paul II's advice that Hell did not as such exist - the less than encouraging news is that the new Pope, perhaps as a small gift to all at Faster, has now said that the fire, brimstone and sulphur version is in fact waiting, if not outright calling, for sinners. Hard to reconcile this image with the God portrayed in the New Testament; not such a stretch for the Old Testament version. But is that not what Easter and the giving of the life of His only begotten son was all about? The gift of life for those who followed?

Gold Coast holiday

This may look like just a picture of the beach but it's really to show that the Tsunami warning that we woke to yesterday morning was unfounded for this part of the world. Tragically, it has had a catastrophic impact on the Solomon Islands. It served though to show how unprepared Australia seems to be for a major disaster. It was difficult to get up-to-date news about what was happening, whether there was a tsunami at all, and whether we should evacuate. We are currently on holidays on the Gold Coast, in a 15th floor apartment on the beachfront, so the idea of looking up and seeing a wave surging in held little joy (although, if one could count on the structural integrity of the block, I do acknowledge that there may have been a photo opportunity there). If the tsunami had hit the Gold Coast - and further points north and south, I don't know how we as a country would have coped with such widespread destruction and loss of life. Thank goodness we didn't have to.

Poker Odds Calculator Pro 1.0

There are two things I don't understand about poker - (a) how to calculate the odds of your hand winning and (b) how betting works. Oh, and some of the rules - like how many cards to hand out for different types of poker games. But at least one of those is solved now there's a Palm program that calculates your winning % against every other Poker hand! (Who said my PalmGear newsletter was all about work?) Won't be long now before I fell confident enough to unwrap my Poker set (and instructions).

Huh?

"Dress better for your next court appearance"- military judge to David Hicks who was wearing standard issue (but crumpled) prison garb and flip flops. Suppose someone should have thought to remember to make sure Mr Hicks was in the expected "neat office attire or a culturally appropriate equivalent" - or perhaps they don't hand those or irons (for pressing clothes) out at Gitmo.

Dino puzzle

Hands up everyone who knows what a dinosaur looks like. 0ops. Not so fast. Yahoo recently carried the story of a group of scientists who are dismantling the skeleton of a 75-ft long sauropod dinosaur so they can reassemble it based on the latest paleontological research findings. So just how many ways will dinosaur bones fit together - and what if the shin bone doesn't connect to the knee bone? It's a good reminder of the fantastic work done by paleontologists to date - all this while putting together a 3D jigsaw without a picture! And the good news is that if they have any left over., they can always sell at auction. The skull of a large carnivorous dinosaur and the tusk of a woolly mammoth sold for over a quarter of a million dollars on the weekend.

A taste of ...

There's nothing like job security so news out today should come as welcome news for official food tasters. Scientists are developing a dipstick test to help consumers quickly tell if food could poison them. Chances are that they won't detect actual poisons but rather germs that can cause distress and death. This will probably be useful to people like me who distrust food left in the fridge for more than a day ... and don't even get me started on ''floor food". Mind you, I'm not sure even it could work with the special advertised at a city cafe today.

Smith COD

According to authorities, it seems that Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose - a combination of a sleeping medication and AT LEAST eight other prescription drugs. Not quite sure why someone would be on so many meds - unless her condition was complicated by a recent bacterial infection from injecting drugs into her buttocks. You have to (1) admire that she could inject herself in the buttocks (I know I couldn't) and (2) hope she wasn't breastfeeding her 5-month old daughter at the time!
Also on the subject of Smith - why is she referred to as "Playboy Playmate"? Is there any other kind? Or is it a trademark issue?

We went to the Hunter Valley on the weekend and were fortunate enough to chance upon the Kurri Kurri markets where a talent guest was in full swing. It was wonderful to see the local kids having a go - and even nicer because the Emcee was so encouraging. He had words of warmth and wisdom for all the acts. And the encouragement was well-founded. The kids were all, even the nervous ones, very confident - and lots of them were very talented. A couple of them were determined to be music teachers "when they grow up ".

Also in Kurri Kurri we cast our votes in the NSW State Election. Because we were away from our home electorate we had to "absent vote" and suspected that would entail the Returning Officer wading though reams of paper to be able to "mark us off". Not so. He picked up a Palm Tungsten E from the desk in front of him and searched thereon for our particulars and, once found, handed over our ballot papers. Very impressive. Amazing what you can find once you're out of the city.

How smart are you?

And are you game enough to pit your knowledge against a 5th Grader? That's one of the new television shows in the U.S. where an adult goes up against a 10-year old to see who's smarter. The results may be skewed though because it seems that the young contestants are given workbooks to help familiarize them with the material to be covered in the show. But there's also help to hand for the adults - they're apparently teamed up with children too.

Junk mail

Dutch consumers now have the option of signing up to receive advertising by mail or email. In exchange they can get a pack of envelopes with free stamps - and more advertising on the back of the envelope. Sound like Something to write home about?

Betting on a ...

Heather Mills is competing in the US version of Dancing with the Stars. Betting has already started with an online gaming site Bodog.com reported to be inviting "macabre bets" on whether Ms Mills' prosthetic leg will detach and go flying during her dancing. (Ms Mills lost her leg in a 1993 traffic accident when she was hit by a motorcycle.) Despite being a celebrity in her own right, in a recent interview on CBS' Eye To Eye she was billed as:

Heather Mills McCartney
PAUL McCARTNEY'S ESTRANGED WIFE

Shoes

On the way to work this morning I noticed, yet again, pairs of shoes hanging from overhead wires. This was shown in the film "Wag the Dog" as a way of showing support for a soldier caught behind enemy lines - but what does it mean in the real world? And where do the shoes come from? Do people carry a spare pair with them or do they get overtaken by the moment and rip them off their feet, hurl them up and then hobble home or get a friend to give them a piggyback? And why does it seem to be only sandshoes that end up on high?

Talent quest

Rather than doing something useful this evening I found myself trapped by the television - watching Australia's Got Talent. One of the acts was a young woman twirling hula hoops while wearing roller skates! But how do you discover that you have such a talent? And what talents could the rest of us be harbouring? Would balancing a broom on a finger do it? Or juggling a couple of cats?

Dental drama

A woman in Hong Kong was in hospital this week recovering after doctors removed the 15cm toothbrush she had swallowed. The incident occurred when the woman slipped on her bathroom floor while brushing her teeth. Unable to speak with the toothbrush lodged where it should not have been, she had the presence of mind to take another toothbrush from home to be able to show medical folk her problem. Doctors were able to remove the brush but didn't seem to report if the brush had been stuck crossways.

Science faction

There are certain things I had thought were true - like if you fall into quicksand, you'll be sucked in and drown; that there is a dark side to/of the moon; and if you swim too soon after eating you'll get cramp and drown. Well, I was wrong. Check out the Wired article by Aria Pearson where she debunks these and other commonly held beliefs.

Split down the middle

It's not always possible to take matters into your own hands but a German man saw the opportunity and took it. While waiting for a divorce settlement he decided to take his half ... by chainsawing the house in Sonneberg in two and taking his half with him on a forklift truck!

No laughing matter

If you're ever travelling through Cucuta, Columbia, picking up odd jobs, shy away from anything that involves multi-coloured baggy pants and big shoes - especially if it's attached to a circus. Three clowns have been killed there recently - the latest two on 21 February. One was performing at the time, the other standing near a ticket booth. The third clown, Pepe, was killed last year by an unknown assailant. No motive has been given for the murders - although it would probably be an interesting case to profile!

Balanced view

A recent study has shown that the average American knows more about basic science today than they did twenty years ago. The same study also shows that the hard sciences were not the only ones to gain more attention: there was also an "unsettling growth" in the belief in pseudoscience such as astrology and visits by extraterrestrial aliens. The MSNBC report has more detail.

Not the almighty dollar

"In God We Trust" is imprinted on US currency - well, usually it is. There was an error last month with some dollar coins - and they have been released into the wild without the inscription. The "godless" dollars are selling well on eBay - for around $40-$60 each. The oversight may or may not be the result of putting faith in a "new, complex, high-volume manufacturing system" that the mint will now adjust to eliminate any future defects. It could also be the result of the coins not going through the machines a second time for the inscription to be added. For more, here's a link to the story.

Blink and you've missed it

For all of us who have had the perfect group photo take forever to get, David Pogue (technology columnist for the NY Times) brings news of Canon's latest next-generation feature ... Blink Shot. It won't take the picture until everybody's eyes are open. Should be fun to try at the Opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

48 chickens later ...

An Indian farmer in a remote West Bengal village was concerned about the loss of chickens from his coup. So he staked it out only to find that the chickens were being snatched, and eaten, by his cow. Local television has since showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken - although it's unclear why the chicken's owner would allow more chickens to be eaten. Vets suggested that the cow was suffering from a mineral deficiency and is now apparently back to eating grass. (Just as well the cow didn't live near an orphanage.)

Totally Wired

Los Angeles: An Iraqi national wearing wires and concealing a magnet inside his rectum triggered a security scare at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday but officials said he posed no apparent threat. (Daily Telegraph, 8 March 2007) More details than this I don't know ... and, not surprisingly, it may be wise to let it stay that way.

Horror writing

It sometimes takes a little bit to shock me - but nothing as much as this. Stephen King - remember him- yes, the horror writer - has recently appeared in Who magazine doing Pop Culture commentary. The piece I saw was on Anna Nicole Smith; and the time before he was writing about films. Wonder why he's doing it (extra cash?) and if he's still finding time to write fiction.

Military at work

The military have been busy lately - what with the "runaway" weapon - a beam that will simulate the sensation of burning (although I think there were some reports that burns were not just simulated) - and robotic insects that can hit the enemy with tiny explosives. But they're not resting on their laurels. Wired reported earlier this week that the Navy is working on a weapon that makes people so dizzy they fall over and throw up. You can't hide from it either ... the pukenator (just made that up - wonder if they're looking for a name for it?) can supposedly shoot through walls, too.

Ball play

Soccer in Italy may receive a much needed boost with the Clericus Cup currently underway at the Vatican. The players are priests and seminarians from around the world - but, it would seem, not from Brazil or England.

Speed cleaning

A new era has descended on our place with the introduction of speed cleaning. The beauty of the system is that housework is contained to 15 minutes a day. The flat is divided into zones and you do one a day - but only for 15 minutes. Of course there is more to it than that but that is the bit that keeps me happy. There is nothing worse than uncontained housework. I haven't read the speed cleaning book but I know lots of people who have it - and have given it as a present.

Life or death

If a person is on Death Row for more than 20 years does this mean they have served a life sentence? And should this cancel out their death sentence?

Protest rules

A recent protest in Sydney about the war in Iraq and the (then) impending visit of US VP Dick Cheney apparently saw some protesters dressed like police and directing traffic at the lines of real police. This action was criticised and behaviour not to be encouraged ... in fact it seemed like people were deriding the protesters for not playing by the rules. Who knew there were any - besides "all's fair in love and war".

Cool Aid

Maybe it's just me but there seems to be a little reality gap happening here. When I switched on the television this evening to catch The Simpsons, I saw an ad for global warming … more specifically, what you could do about global warming - Cool Aid. Now I'm thinking that's probably like Live Aid or Band Aid - but unfortunately the first thing I associated with it was cordial and JonesTown. Okay, just went to the net and had a look - it's ...

COOL AID: The National Carbon Test will air on Network Ten on Sunday, March 4 at 8.30pm and will consider the devastating effects that excess carbon has had ...If you're interested in more … see their site.

Take the cake

Just when you thought you'd seen everything, along comes the motion-sensitive talking urinal-deodoriser cake. They have been introduced into bars and restaurants throughout New Mexico and are aimed at keeping inebriated folk off the road. When a gentleman steps up to use the facility, a female voice says "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you've had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home". There were no details in the report (MX News 16 Feb 07) I read to suggest how effective the tool is - or why they chose a female voice for the device, nor how long the battery lasts and whether it's replaceable.

In need of a little therapy

A US man who was fired for visiting an adult chat room during work hours is suing the company for $6.4 million claiming he is a sex and internet addict who deserves sympathy rather than the sack. Four months prior to his dismissal, Pacenza had been cautioned over his use of the net during company time and advised his actions were against company policy.
James Pacenza, 58, says he visits chat rooms as treatment for traumatic stress which dates back to the Vietnam War when he saw his best friend killed during a patrol. In his suit, Pacenza claims that the stress has caused him to become "a sex addict and, with the development of the internet, an internet addict".

Dead unlucky

One Victorian real estate agency, two tragic accidents on the same day. The receptionist was trapped between a car and a wall as she took out the rubbish early on Saturday afternoon. Her leg was severed. Then while repairing the damage (to the property) a glazier was killed when a nail from his nail gun richoted and hit him in the chest.

"Hello, my name is ..."

According to the NY Times, some people with thousands of dollars of credit card debt are pushing themselves into paying it off by describing their fiscal troubles online via blogs. I guess it's a bit like AA - except with a bigger audience.

The plot ...

I didn't note down the details at the time (yes, I know that's what digital cameras are for) but I read somewhere that there is a three-way tussle over Anna Nicole Smith's body. Her mother wants her buried in her home state of Texas while her companion Howard K. Stern wants her buried in the Bahamas, in the plot next to her son Daniel who died several months ago. Also putting dibs in is photographer Larry Birkhead who wanted to delay embalming of the body until DNA had been taken from Anna Nicole's body to help in his claim that he fathered Anna Nicole's baby daughter Dannielyn. Ms Smith's body has been embalmed pending a decision - although I think I read that the DNA sample was taken prior.

Taken for a ride

The motorcycle ridden by The Fonz character in the television series Happy Days was the same one Steve McQueen rode in the film The Great Escape.

Mother's "milk"

Standing in queue at the supermarket this afternoon, I saw the fridge for "Mother". They were putting up a similar fridge at Toowoomba Hospital while I was there earlier in the week. Mother is a new drink from the Coca-Cola company and as the bottle says "Mother is the low GI natural energy high that won't let you down." Ingredients include juice, acai extract (whatever that is) from the Amazon, guarana extract (also from the Amazon) and caffeine. It comes in a can (230ml) and a bottle (330ml). Which means you can't have one of each and be inside the 500ml max daily usage noted on the bottle. I'm just waiting to be energised and for my mental performance to be enhanced.

Up in arms

Undertakers in some parts of New South Wales (Australia) are up in arms over the possibility of legal action from family members and friends who insist on being pallbearers - and injure themselves in the process. The tradition of carrying the coffin at shoulder height is the issue - and that, once they arrive for the funeral, there is no time to teach them safe manual handling techniques. Funeral directors had wanted family pallbearers to sign waivers but these would not have been legally enforceable - so there is now a move to have the volunteers (family members or friends) carry the coffin no higher than the waist - or pay for professional pallbearers.

Stumped

A work colleague gave me the Mensa test questions that were published recently and I have been working my way through them but I have to admit that I am stumped. Insatiable is the word. Can you find an anagram. I haven't been able to yet and it is starting to drive me crazy. But don't tell me!

Headlines

I don't mind a good headline which is why it was refreshing to see the offerings on today's astronaut love triangle (attempted murder) story eg Lust in Space and The Wrong Stuff.

Explicit content

When downloading The Onion podcast this morning I was surprised to see an "explicit" tag. Taking my sensibilities in hand, I listened, waiting to see how offended I would be - how bad could it be in 48 seconds? The experience left me reeling. It seems they had earned the tag for the use of "a***hole". How amazing must content review/supervision be at iTunes?

Mystery solved

It's a shame they had to expose secret astronaut business - and that it would be as part of a love triangle of sorts. The story tells of the female astronaut who drove across the US to confront another female astronaut who she saw as a rival for her affections for a third, male, astronaut. For someone who says she only wanted to scare her she went to some trouble including dark wig, glasses, pepper spray, a steel mallet, BB gun, folding knife, rubber tubing and trash bags ... And the adult diapers she wore during the 1500km trip (as worn by astronauts for launches and landings) so she wouldn't have to stop to urinate along the way. After first being charged with attempted kidnapping, Lisa Nowak has now been charged with attempted murder. The reports don't indicate how her husband, teenage son and younger twin girls are reacting to the news of her fall to earth.

Just going potty ...

Here we go again - or actually here we don't go again. July 21 looks to be a big day with the launch of the last Harry Potter epic ... HP and the Deathly Hallows. Pre-orders have already pushed the as yet unpublished tome onto the best-seller list. But won't be among the different versions pushed onto the market? An e-book version. Bad luck for those of us who prefer to take our books in our pocket rather than in our backpacks! Of course, (and here's a huge dollop of wishful thinking) this may be because there's a deal in the offering - maybe the new Sony digital reader will secure HP as its first major launch. Yes, I know that wouldn't help me much (I'm starting weight lifting practice now) but at least it would give e-reading a much needed filip.

Inverse law

The bus I catch to work is pretty reliable. It turns up about the same time every day - except when I am running early because then it is sure to be late ... and I can deal with that. i just want to know how it knows when I am running late because on those days, it is always, without fail, 5 minutes early!

Pressing problem

You know you have a problem - or possibly a solution - when you take your iron to work rather than risk leaving it on at home.

Naked thoughts

A Dutch gym has announced that it will introduce "Naked Sunday" for people who want to strip off their clothes while they work out. The response has been huge - both for and against. A major concern seems to be hygiene. Expect a flurry of towels and disposable bicycle seats. And of course, all machines will be cleaned and disinfected afterwards - although it was unclear in the report if that would be after each session or at the end of the day. But will the initiative get enough coverage to be successful? A recent survey of Naturists there found that the most popular activities for members were things you do outdoors - begging the question as to whether the level of exposure affects one's preference for nudity.

Value added?

What is it with television stations where there is no hesitation to serve up hour after hour of unadulterated US programming but when it comes to a compile program of Ed Sullivan's greatest novelty act, they feel the need to use an Australian presenter to do links and make voiceover comments which detract from the performances and the performers. It makes me wonder about what people see as entertainment - and how much of that is determined by what is on offer.

Something (else) in the water?

If you've ever turned lovingly to your partner and discussed the virtues of a seahorse in relation to yourself ie monogamous (not necessarily that it's a species where the male becomes pregnant and carries the eggs), it's time to find a new metaphor (or would that be similie?). They have been found out!
SEX SHOCK: SEAHORSES EXPOSED screamed the headlines yesterday. The gist of the story - seahorses, long thought of as monogamous, are in fact shameless sex-obsessed bisexuals - and none more so than those in Australian waters. A study has found that, unlike human rules of attraction, seahorses with the biggest bellies attract most partners, and of the 3168 sexual couplings recorded during the study, 37per cent were same-sex liaisons.
So it seems that the seahorses' fabled monogamy was just that ... fabled!
But wait ... of the three species studied, 5 couples (of the 11) of the British spiny seahorse were faithful to one partner. (When did faithful and monogamy come to mean the same thing?)

Fish man

If all is going to plan, Martin Strel and his 45-person support team have begun his swim down (up?) the Amazon. He plans to have the 5,400km swim completed by 11 April - as long as he survives the piranha fish, crocodiles, cannibals, and Pororoca (4m tidal wave). Hopefully his support team, traveling in three boats, will be able to distract potentially lethal predators by pouring buckets of fresh animal blood into the water. I'm not sure if that would attract or distract interest in him but it may depend on whether they're with, behind or ahead of him. When it comes to the toothpick fish, though, he's on his own.

The candiru or canero (Vandellia cirrhosa) or toothpick fish is ... found in the Amazon River and has a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over the piranha. The species has been known to grow to a size of 6 inches in length and is eel shaped and translucent, making it almost impossible to see in the water. The candiru is a parasite. It swims into the gill cavities of other fish, erects a spine to hold itself in place, and feeds on the blood in the gills, earning it a nickname as the "vampire fish of Brazil". (Wikipedia)

If it restricted its activities to fish that might be okay, but it is attracted to urine or blood and swimmers have found themselves the target of the toothpick fish. Once in (through whichever orifice or opening) it's almost impossible to remove the fish except through surgery - by which time the swimmer has usually succumbed to infection, shock and death. But Mr Strel should be okay, as he is quoted by the BBC: "I never urinate straight into the water, I always urinate straight into my wetsuit" - which must be a great relief to those near the Danube, Mississippi and Yangtze Rivers - all of which Mr Strel, a Slovenian, has already swum.
This is probably his most hazardous swim to date - as well as everything else - there's also the possibility of running into poisonous fresh-water stingrays and aggressive bull sharks, which travel far up the river from the Atlantic and frequently attack swimmers, not to mention tarantulas, malaria, dengue fever and rabies spread by bites from vampire bats. Let's hope that 45-person support crew includes a few medics because it seems they might need a little help too!

What is free?

This week has been exciting in the PC world with the long-awaited release of the new operating system, Vista. (I gave Moses a Defrag instead.) More to my liking is the release of a new version of OneNote - a totally excellent program for just about any organising need. Although my heart says to go out and purchase the new one immediately the rest of me said download the free trial version. Hence the title question. What is free? I think if you have to provide anything to effect the deal then it is not free. Even if that is information. (People don't sell information for nothing you know.) So by the time I was able to download the trial I had been asked, inexpertly in a North American eccentric form, to provide employment type information which is irrelevant to my private home use of a software program. Way to not make people enjoy the prospect of playing with you MS. That being said I can't wait to get home to try it out.

Keyed in

As I work on my first instance of thumb RSI (just joking but I can see how it could happen if you spend too long too often on the tiny keypad of a mobile phone) I can't help wondering what is the longest word that can be made with a single key using predictive text. For example the 3 key has the letters d e f. So you could do feeded which I didn't think was a word but who am I to argue with the phone? Nonmom on the 6 key. Hours of fun - erredickly (or especially) if you look at 2 key combinations. Hmmm. I don't understand why some people eschew predictive text.