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Gooseys Gabbings-The World of Weird Bizarre and Odd News
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Pill created to stop cow farts...still no cure for cancer
German scientists have developed a pill that stops cattle breaking wind.
Methane emissions from cattle are responsible for 4% of harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and any reduction would be a major contribution to reducing global warming.
Scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany say they have now tested a pill which in combination with a special diet and strict feeding times should make cattle less harmful to the climate.
The pill, which is still being tested, breaks down the methane in the cows' stomachs, and also has health benefits for the cattle.
Winfried Drocher, head of the faculty for animal nutrition at the university, said: "It will make this energy available for the cows' metabolism. The cattle can use the methane to produce glucose instead of just passing it out and it will enable them to produce more milk."
The only problem at the moment is that the pill is about the size of a fist, which is hard to persuade the cows to swallow.
"It needs to be this big as it dissolves slowly, releasing active ingredients over several months. Our aim is to increase the well-being of the cows and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses," said Drocher.
Goosey's Gabbings...
Little did we know that some bad gas could end up frying our skin. And here I thought that a trip to Taco Bell would just mean some embarassing rumblings, and here I am contributing to people having to wear SPF 100. I officially am giving up my carne asada as a sacrifice for your skin. No thanks needed.
Student facing expulsion for putting Urine in Teacher's Coffee
MUNCIE, Ind. - A Muncie eighth-grader has been suspended from school and faces expulsion after admitting that he put urine in a teacher's coffee pot.
The Wilson Middle School teacher noticed that the coffee had an unusual odor Friday and reported it to the principal. A student overheard other students discussing the incident and reported it to school officials. School officials say the found urine in the eighth-grader's locker. They say the student admitted placing the urine in the teacher's coffee pot. In a letter to parents, school officials say such behavior will not be tolerated.
Goosey's Gabbings... First of all, could this report be any more robotic? Second of all, how in the world did the student GET to the coffee pot in order to put the urine in there? Ancient Chinese Secret, evidently. Oh, I get it...Me Chinese, Me play joke....me go pee pee in your...coffee...or something.
Tech wipes out 38 Billion fund from data; redefines "Having a Bad Day"
JUNEAU, Alaska - Perhaps you know that sinking feeling when a single keystroke accidentally destroys hours of work. Now imagine wiping out a disk drive containing an account worth $38 billion.
That’s what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue. While doing routine maintenance work, the technician accidentally deleted applicant information for an oil-funded account — one of Alaska residents’ biggest perks — and mistakenly reformatted the backup drive, as well.
There was still hope, until the department discovered its third line of defense, backup tapes, were unreadable.
“Nobody panicked, but we instantly went into planning for the worst-case scenario,” said Permanent Fund Dividend Division Director Amy Skow. The computer foul-up last July would end up costing the department more than $200,000.
Over the next few days, as the department, the division and consultants from Microsoft Corp. and Dell Inc. labored to retrieve the data, it became obvious the worst-case scenario was at hand.
Nine months worth of information concerning the yearly payout from the Alaska Permanent Fund was gone: some 800,000 electronic images that had been painstakingly scanned into the system months earlier, the 2006 paper applications that people had either mailed in or filed over the counter, and supporting documentation such as birth certificates and proof of residence.
And the only backup was the paperwork itself — stored in more than 300 cardboard boxes.
“We had to bring that paper back to the scanning room, and send it through again, and quality control it, and then you have to have a way to link that paper to that person’s file,” Skow said.
Half a dozen seasonal workers came back to assist the regular division staff, and about 70 people working overtime and weekends re-entered all the lost data by the end of August.
“They were just ready, willing and able to chip in and, in fact, we needed all of them to chip in to get all the paperwork rescanned in a timely manner so that we could meet our obligations to the public,” Skow said.
Last October and November, the department met its obligation to the public. A majority of the estimated 600,000 payments for last year’s $1,106.96 individual dividends went out on schedule, including those for 28,000 applicants who were still under review when the computer disaster struck.
Former Revenue Commissioner Bill Corbus said no one was ever blamed for the incident.
“Everybody felt very bad about it and we all learned a lesson. There was no witch hunt,” Corbus said.
According to department staff, they now have a proven and regularly tested backup and restore procedure.
The department is asking lawmakers to approve a supplemental budget request for $220,700 to cover the excess costs incurred during the six-week recovery effort, including about $128,400 in overtime and $71,800 for computer consultants.
Goosey's Gabbings...
I guess I won't fret over that 1.38 that my bank account is off.
So does anyone else but me have this vision of Milton from Office Space going "but...but...but....ok..."???
"Yyyyyyyeaaaah...I'm gonna have to ask you to come in on Ssssssaturday, because we're really behind...okaaayy?"
Carmel, IN -- A candidate for the City Council was booted from the Republican Party's May primary ballot because he checked the wrong box about his voting history on an election form
The Hamilton County Election Board voted 2-1 to remove Larry A. Fritz, leaving incumbent Councilman Rick Sharp unopposed in the GOP primary for City Council District 1.
Sarann Klain Warner is unopposed in the Democratic Party primary, so she would run against Sharp in the November election.
Fritz, who turns 58 today, made the error on his declaration of candidacy form. He may attempt to refile later as an independent to run in November.
"This was an honest mistake. My name is correct on the form, and I live where it says I live. We didn't set out to deceive anybody," Fritz said.
Semi-retired computer consultant Phillip Polivka triggered the Election Board's ruling by filing a challenge about Fritz's voting record. Polivka said he couldn't say who first suggested an error might have been made on Fritz's form. "I submitted the challenge to see if he is a legitimate candidate. I wanted the Election Board to tell me if he is a legitimate candidate, because I had never heard of him," Polivka said.
Fritz, a retired race car driver, has run a Jaguar auto specialty shop in Carmel for nearly two decades. He said he suffered a stroke last year and, though he has recovered, got help from a relative to complete the form. Goosey's Gabbings... Ok, would you want this guy running your town if he can't even fill out the form WITH help from a relative? The relative doesn't even have the excuse of suffering a stroke for cripes sake?
Q. How many people does it take to fill out an election form correctly? A. Ummm....Ummmm.....
Want to teach your kids about sex? Don't do it in front of them
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to three years probation on Monday for having intercourse in front of the woman's 9-year-old daughter to teach the girl about sex.
Chief Family Court Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr. sentenced Rebecca Arnold of Woonsocket, and her boyfriend, David Prata, to probation and a three-year suspended sentence after they pleaded no contest to a felony child neglect charge.
The judge said he wanted to spare the young girl, now 11, from testifying, according to Michael Healey, a spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch.
During an investigation by the state child welfare authorities, Prata, 33, said he and Arnold, 36, had sex "all the time" in front of the child and that "we don't believe in hiding anything." He told an investigator that they did not force the girl to watch.
The allegations surfaced in December 2004 after the girl went to live with her father in North Adams, Massachusetts, after spending the summer with her mother in Woonsocket.
A teacher called a child abuse hotline to report that the girl said her mother and her boyfriend had sex in front of her. Woonsocket police arrested the couple February 2005.
Goosey's Gabbings...
Wow...I'm officially speechless. That says something.
And only three years probation, eh? The judicial system sickens me sometimes..well, most of the time.
Would be Truck Thief chased down by owner in his underwear
EASTVALE, Calif. — The owner of a stolen pickup truck, wearing only his underwear, used his wife's van to chase down the thief. The 29-year-old man was sipping coffee in his garage before dawn Sunday when his Ford Ranger suddenly started up and roared off.
The man, whose name was withheld, then jumped into his wife's van and, wearing only his underwear, gave chase. Inside the floor-installer's pickup were his tools.
"He said 'I just couldn't let my truck go because it's my livelihood,'" said Kirk Durbin of the California Highway Patrol.
The man pursued his pickup at speeds up to 80 mph in the unincorporated Riverside County community before ramming the Ford Ranger with his wife's van. The pickup struck a concrete barrier and the thief ran into a field and got into a Chevrolet S-10 pickup and fled, the CHP said.
The Ford Ranger had moderate damage to the front and back, and the van had major damage in the front, Durbin said.
By the time investigators arrived, the man had called his wife on a witness's cell phone and had her bring him some clothes, the CHP officer said.
"He's got a lot of courage," Durbin said.
There were no arrests.
Goosey's Gabbings...
There were--no arrests? Ummm...ok. How does that make ANY sense?
The saying usually goes when someone robs someone else, that the robber must "need it" more than the victim...It's pretty obvious in this case that this was definitely not the phrase to use.
Judge in Anna Nicole Smith case cited for smoking pot
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A judge who had a secondary role in the recent Anna Nicole Smith proceedings was charged with smoking marijuana in a city park, police said Monday.
Lawrence Korda was smoking marijuana while sitting under a tree Sunday, police said. Three officers who were training there saw Korda and field-tested the cigarette, said Capt. Tony Rode, a police spokesman.
The judge was not arrested. He was given a misdemeanor citation to appear in court.
“Judge Korda was not given special treatment because of his status as a circuit court judge,” Rode said. “He was provided with a notice to appear. That’s exactly what 99 percent of other offenders would have been given for this type of offense.”
Korda later heard brief arguments in a related case, seeking to determine the biological father of the baby. He ruled that a Bahamian court had jurisdiction over the child’s custody.
Goosey's Gabbings...
It probably should have been known that Judge Korda was a chronic advocate:
1)He answered the question over the biological father by going "Don't let 'em fool ya or even try to school ya! Oh NO!"
2) Had a quart-sized Visine on his desk;
3)Responded to lawyer's objections with "Whoa, That's Heavy."
School paper Under fire for allowing story on "Friends with benefits"
MONTROSE, Pa. -- The Montrose Area School District board vowed not to censor its high school newspaper after some district residents complained about the content of an article about having sex with friends.
The article appeared in a February edition of the Montrose Area Junior Senior High School paper The Meteor Chronicle and detailed students' choices and thoughts about "friends with benefits" -- in other words, friends who have sex with each other outside a committed relationship.
The article appeared in the "Life As We Know It" section of the paper, which is a year-long series devoted to informing teens and the community about some of the issues teens face. Previous issues have addressed dysfunctional families, online dating and the morning-after pill.
In the February edition, "Elementary News" appeared a few pages after the controversial story and included four quotes and pictures from district elementary students telling how they spend a snow day.
District residents who receive the Mulligan's Shopping Guide are also delivered the school's newspaper at their homes.
More than 50 people attended the school board meeting Monday night, where the board decided to form a committee to review The Meteor Chronicle before it is distributed throughout the district.
High School Principal James Tallarico said he wants to be involved early in the process to review content. He said he would make suggestions to writers to make sure subjects are fully explored.
"That is not censorship," he said. "I will not force them to rewrite it."
He also said the school would consider putting warning labels on articles to identify to readers content that is better suitable for mature audiences.
Melinda Zosh, a senior who was the article's main author, said the idea came from talk the paper's staff overheard in the hallways.
"It wasn't one or two individuals -- it was more than that," she said. "We decided it was definitely an issue that needed to be written about."
Taxpayers had mixed reactions.
"I'm opposed to that kind of content," said Bill McVaugh, a Liberty Township resident.
He said that perhaps the paper could generate its own revenue so taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for such a product. Others said they wanted the option to not receive home delivery of the paper.
Lisa McVaugh, a Halstead resident, said she previously had her second-grader read the entire paper to her and was shocked by the "friends with benefits" article.
"Why was it in the paper my second-grader could read?" she asked.
Laura McCarey, a Bridgewater Township resident, said she applauded the subject of the article as something that needs to be addressed.
"Parents, we cannot keep our heads in the sand," she said.
But she also said the article should have included more about the consequences of casual sex with multiple partners.
"Not utilizing that article to its full potential, you did a disservice," she said.
The Rev. Gerald Safko, of Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Montrose, said, "I think the article is very courageous."
But he said the "friends with benefits" lifestyle described in the article is, of course, against Scripture. He also expressed concerned about the "dangerous" effects this kind of sexual behavior would have on these teenagers' emotional and sexual development.
Journalism teacher Sandy Kaub said that perhaps the article could have been more fully developed, but she doesn't want one article to bring down a long tradition at the award-winning newspaper.
"I would urge you to keep your eye on the bigger picture," she told the school board.
Goosey's Gabbings...
Bigger picture? Like what? We're already bombarded with sex in the media (just look at alot of my posts!), so where does it end? Does free speech really extend to a school paper where the content is exposed directly to those who could and will be influenced by it? Is the same hand of the constitution extended to this level of journalism as it is with million-people distribution media types?
I think not....but then again, proper education on this SHOULD be by the parents, yes. But again---why should the parents be immediately faced with a skewed view to have to sort out from the "real" relationships that we all want for our children. That's where the line here is.
A Bluffton woman was charged over the weekend for nearly biting the nose off a woman and severely biting a man on the cheek, authorities said.
Police say Kellee E. Knight, 34, of 74 Shultz Road was drinking alcohol with her neighbors March 2 and became agitated when a 46-year-old man told her she was sitting on his credit card.
She lunged at him and bit him on the cheek so hard that it broke the skin and left distinct upper and bottom teeth marks on him, said Bluffton Police Chief David McAllister. When a 41-year-old woman tried to pull her off, Knight bit her nose, causing enough damage to require plastic surgery, McAllister said.
"She basically almost bit this lady's nose off," said McAllister.
Knight faces two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. She was charged Saturday and posted a $20,000 bond, according to the jail's online log.
She initially was charged with simple assault and battery and was released on bond. After consulting with the solicitor's office, that charge was dropped in order to pursue more severe charges, McAllister said.
Goosey's Gabbings...
Is this the poster child for debt consolidation? Geez, lady, if you need your credit card THAT badly....
Word on the street is that there is already talk of a pay per view event set up between her and Mike Tyson. It's kind of a fear factor type of show, called "Chew it or Kiss it". We'll see who comes out on top in this anger management challenge. My guess is it's gonna get reeaaaaaaaaaaallly bloody.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A married Singaporean woman who met a man in an online chatroom and conned him into giving her about $45,000 after she promised to marry him, was jailed for six months on Monday, court documents showed.
Maliha Ramu, 36, used a false name and photographs of Bollywood actress Gayatri Joshi when she began an online relationship with Bharani Indran, an Indian national living in the United States, according to the Straits Times newspaper.
After Ramu promised in 2004 to marry Indran, she asked him to send her a total of about $45,000 for her mother's funeral expenses and for a friend's wedding, according to the court documents.
Indran eventually grew suspicious of Ramu when she asked for more money and filed a police report in Singapore, the Straits Times said. The paper added that Ramu's husband had no idea she had struck up an online relationship until the police came to their apartment to arrest her in August.
"No sensible man will -- without seeing her in person first -- send so much money to a woman who claims she loves him and wants to marry him," Ramu's husband was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
Goosey's Gabbings...
I've heard of mail order brides, but the postage on this one seems a little high.
What was this guy thinking, anyways? I mean, for 45,000, I'd sleep with this guy! But no spooning....I just am not down with that. I have my limits, you know.
JERUSALEM (Reuters)-U.S Restaurant chain Hooters, known for its waitresses in low-cut blouses and short skirts, will open its first branch in Israel, this summer in the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv.
"I strongly believe that the Hooters concept is something that Israelis are looking for," Ofer Ahiraz, who bought the Hooters franchise for Israel, told Reuters Monday. "Hooters can suit the Israeli entertainment culture."
At Hooters, waitresses the company calls Hooters Girls serve spicy chicken wings, sandwiches, seafood and drinks.
Ahiraz said a specific location in Tel Aviv, Israel's most cosmopolitan city, had yet to be chosen, but he said it would not open restaurants near large religious populations, and they would not be kosher.
He said his plan was to open as many as five Hooters restaurants in the next few years, including one in the southern resort city of Eilat.
The Tel Aviv version of Hooters is expected to mimic most of the chain's other 430 restaurants in the United States and in 23 countries including China, Switzerland, Australia and Brazil.
Ahiraz said, however, he expected some minor modifications to meet Israeli tastes since U.S. chains have had a mixed response in Israel.
Food chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Hard Rock Cafe failed, Kentucky Fried Chicken closed many locations, while others such as Burger King and McDonalds have thrived by altering their offerings to suit the Israeli market.
Goosey's Gabbings...
"Holy Shiite!" Is probably the most common term you'll hear once this gets rolling. This may be the true sign that the apocalypse is upon us. Who knows, one day you may be able to go visit Jesus' tomb and go next door to get some wings and a peekaboo show. It could happen....
