lunes, 31 de diciembre de 2007

happynewyear-1.jpg

Stolen GPS lead home

NY Police arrested a man on suspicion of stealing a GPS receiver, after the device apparently gave him away.
A 33-year-old man was arrested on Dec. 30 when police spotted him trying to ride a bicycle while carrying several items, including a car GPS unit.

Police say the cyclist gave evasive answers to questions, and when the officer pressed the home button on the GPS, the unit displayed a nearby address.
The resident of that home claimed that the device was his. (metro)

sony-gps-.jpg

viernes, 28 de diciembre de 2007

World's tiniest Bible

Israeli scientists have inscribed the entire Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible onto a space less than half the size of grain of sugar!

The nanotechnology experts at the Technion institute in Haifa say the text measures less than 0.5 square millimeter (0.01 square inch) surface.
"It took us about an hour to etch the 300,000 words of the Bible onto a tiny silicon surface," Ohad Zohar, the university's scientific adviser for educational programs, told the Associated Press.
The Technion's microscopic bible was created by blasting tiny particles called gallium ions at an object that then rebounded, causing an etching affect.
"When a particle beam is directed toward a point on the surface, the gold atoms bounce off and expose the silicon layer underneath just like a hammer and chisel," Zohar said. Zohar said the technology will in the future be used as a way to store vast amounts of data on bio-molecules and DNA.
The tiny Bible appears to be the world's smallest.
The previous smallest known copy of the Bible measured 2.8 x 3.4 x 1 centimeters (1.1 x 1.3 x 0.4 inches), weighing 11.75 grams (0.4 ounces) and containing 1,514 pages, according to Guinness World Records spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza. The tiny text, obtained by an Indian professor in November 2001, is believed to have originated in Australia.
Well, how do you read it?
The next step for Technion researchers is photographing the Bible and displaying it on a giant wall within the Faculty of Physics.
?In this picture, which will be 7m by 7m (23ft by 23ft), it will be possible to read the entire Bible with the naked eye (the height of each letter will be some 3mm - 0.1in),? Mr Zohar said.
?Near this picture, the original - the nano-Bible itself, which is the size a grain of sugar - will be displayed.?
(metro, photo - Ariel Schalit, Associated Press)

smallestbibleonfinger.jpg

smallestbible.jpg

High tuition led to robbery and 20 years behind bars

In the previous post a Chinese student won a lottery money to quit school, but these two college students were not that lucky so they have chosen armed robberies to raise tuition money. However, the court doesn't think they should be sent to school!
A Hamilton County common pleas judge sentenced Andrew Butler and Christopher Avery to 20-year prison terms and told them dire financial straits don't justify breaking the law.

"If you get to that point, robbing people isn't the answer. It never has been and it never will be," Judge Steven Martin said.
Butler, 20, and Avery, 22, apologized to their families and their victims before Martin imposed the sentence. The men pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated robbery and six charges of kidnapping.

Butler, who attended the University of Toledo, told Martin in an earlier hearing that tuition increases outpaced his scholarships and financial aid. Avery, a student at the University of Cincinnati, said he couldn't pay for summer classes after an internship fell through. Avery was a student at UC in mechanical engineering and was about to start his summer employment with an engineering firm.

Prosecutors said the two had guns and were wearing masks when they made off with $130,000 from a crowded bank in suburban Reading on July 17. A day earlier, they unsuccessfully tried to rob a check-cashing business, prosecutors said.

It is told that they were caught while switching cars after the bank robbery. (CBS)

bankrobbers.jpg

jueves, 27 de diciembre de 2007

Chinese Student wins lottery and leaves school

A college student withdrew from school after winning the 5 million yuan ($683,000) jackpot in a lottery in China' eastern city of Nanjing, local media reported on Thursday.
The second-year student at the Jiangsu Maritime Institute, identified by the nickname Yong to protect his identity, was the sole first-prize winner in the "Double Colour Ball" issued by the China Welfare Lottery on Tuesday, the Beijing News said.
"After winning the lottery, Yong told his roommates that he would share 2,000 yuan with each of them," it added.
Yong informed school authorities of his winnings, and had returned home.
"We are not sure if he will return to school, but we hope he will eventually finish his education," the paper quoted Yong's teacher as saying.
The Communist Party abolished lotteries in China after taking power in 1949, denouncing them as a practice of decadent capitalists. But the country launched state-run lotteries in 1987 amid market-oriented reforms.
Lotteries have become increasingly popular both among the poor and the newly rich in China, where many forms of gambling are banned. Per capita income in China's urban areas is roughly $1,900 a year and about $600 a year in rural areas.
Lottery-related crimes have been on the rise as well, and underground lottery schemes have become rampant across the country in recent years, bankrupting many families.
Last month, China set up its first help centre for lottery addicts, offering counseling and legal assistance. (from Reuters)

viernes, 21 de diciembre de 2007

Connie Talbot - Over the Rainbow

The Britain?s Got Talent fame sweet little girl Connie Talbot has released a sweet little music album. It would be a nice gift to your little ones as it is easy to sing along with. You would surely love the sweet, untouched, untainted, talent in it's purest form.
Connie Talbots "Over The Rainbow" cd is so touching and she sings like an angel. I believe someday she will become a loved star and bring happiness to others with her beautiful voice, smile and personality. Her cd can be for everyday listening as well as for the holidays. Any little 6 year old girl who can "WOW" Simon Cowell has to be pretty impressive. I posted the videos and pictures of hers in my previous posts. You can go back to the post to listen her singing in :
Connie Talbot stunned the Final and Semi-final of Britain?s Got Talent
and Britain?s Got Talent - 6 year-old Connie Sings Great
I wish the amazon price were a bit low.

World's Tallest Snowman to be Dwarfed

The world's tallest snowman ? 113 feet, 7 inches ? was built in this western Maine town back in 1999. In the photo below the tallest snowman, "Angus, King of the Mountain", stands tall over a crowd of people gathered to attend a ceremony in Bethel, Maine, in February, 19 1999.

Now the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce will attempt to build the world's tallest snowman (snowwoman) again. It is told that the work will start on Jan. 22 and take up to 20 days to complete, said Executive Director Robin Zinchuk.

"We definitely learned a lot the first time around and that's helping us know what we need to do. We really didn't know what we were doing last time," Zinchuk said. The giant snowman was named "Angus, King of the Mountain" in honor of former Gov. Angus King.
Angus was so big that his nose was 8 feet long, his hat was 20 feet in diameter and the scarf around his neck was 120 feet long. His eyes were 4-foot wreaths, and his smile was made from automobile tires.
There was also a raffle as to when Angus would melt, which with our Maine weather, was anyone's guess. The official melt date was June 10, 1999. The raffle was divided by 22 winners. Fashion ideas being tossed around for a giant snowwoman include making a skirt out of snow, adding a pink scarf and painting tires lipstick red for her mouth.
Jim Sysko, the chief architect and engineer nine years ago, will again lead the construction team. He'll be assisted by an engineer and a longtime snowmaker from the nearby Sunday River ski resort, which has a new snowmaking gun that could help ease the effort.

For a name, the chamber is considering holding a naming contest. The giant snowman was named by a radio station disc jockey. "I haven't heard from Angus (King) yet, but I'm sure he will be thrilled that we're doing it again. He's all about doing fun things," Zinchuk said.
Detail of the to-be-dethroned tallest snowman are:


Height 113 ft. & 7 inches tall

9,000,000 lbs

200,000 cubic feet of snow

4 ft. wreathes as eyes

6 ft. of chicken wire & muslin for the carrot nose

6 automobile tires as the mouth

20 ft. fleece hat

120 ft. fleece scarf

3 skidder tires for the buttons

2 - 10 ft. trees for arms
The snowman's hat was made by seventh graders at Telstar Middle School. His six-foot nose was made by local elementary school students and as a special touch, has the imprints of the student's hands.
Maine's governor, Angus King, whom "Angus, King of the Mountain" was named after, came to participate in the ceremony to honor the citizens of Bethel who achieved their goal and "made it" into the Guiness World Book of Records for the World's Largest Snowman. He stated he felt honored to have had the snowman named after him, but wondered if "Willie Melt" might not have been a more appropriate name! (source )
The snowman is listed in Guinness Book of Records 2002, page123.

aking.jpg

tallestsnowman4.jpg

tallestsnowman2.jpg

tallestsnowman3.jpg

tallestsnowman.jpg

miércoles, 19 de diciembre de 2007

Norway - Parking wiped out bank account

Some Norwegians were charged between $37,000 and $148,000 for parking in a municipal spots in the central Norwegian city of Trondheim last week.

At least 26 motorists were left baffled and broke when they used their bank debit cards to pay for the street parking.

Well, that was not the usual rate of parking though. It was all because of a computer glitch. The machine dispensing windshield parking permits multiplied the amount of time they bought by 10,000, and automatically deducted it from their bank accounts. (abc)

They should be pretty rich people to keep that much of money in their banks and that too accessible to debit cards!

crubparking-meter.jpg

martes, 18 de diciembre de 2007

Cousins Reunited After 70 Years - Thanks to a Web Post

Internet has changed how we live in today's world. We do almost everything online and today I came accross a news story that gives one more reason to be grateful to the development of internet.
Two South Florida sisters are catching up with their Russian cousin after 70 years apart. Ossie Rasher, 81, and Sophia Altfeld, 78, last saw their cousin Rosalie Berkovich, 80, in 1937 when the sisters fled to the United States with their parents.
The families lost track of each other until decades later, when Berkovich's relatives tracked down the two sisters using a family tree posted on geneology.com.

Berkovich flew from her home in Acton, Mass., for a reunion Friday night at Altfeld's home in Coconut Creek. They are also planning for a larger family reunion. (CBS)

internet-world.jpg

Italy - Court thinks Friday is not a nice name

I talked about strange names and disputes in naming a child decently.
In another recent news an Italian court has ruled that a couple could not name their son "Friday" and ordered that he instead be called Gregory after the saint whose feast day he was born on.
Well, I don't think Friday is such a bad name. Or at least it is much better than "4real" or "@". The child's mother was quoted as saying: "My son was born Friday, baptised Friday, will call himself Friday, we will call him Friday but when he gets older he will have to sign his name Gregory". (Read more)

friday.jpg

Christmas Surprise - Card 93 Years Late

A postcard took a 93 year journey to reach northwest Kansas to the receiptant's relative. The Christmas card was dated Dec. 23, 1914, and mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, apparently from her cousins in Alma, Neb.
The card features a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl. Ethel Martin is deceased, but Oberlin Postmaster Steve Schultz said the post office wanted to get the card to a relative.
That's how the 93-year-old relic ended up with Bernice Martin, Ethel's sister-in-law. She said she believed the card had been found somewhere in Illinois.

"That's all we know," she said. "But it is kind of curious. We'd like to know how it got down there."
The card was placed inside another envelope with modern postage for the trip to Oberlin ? the one-cent postage of the early 20th century wouldn't have covered it, Martin said.
"We don't know much about it," she said. "But wherever they kept it, it was in perfect shape." (Yahoo)

postcard-1914.jpg

domingo, 16 de diciembre de 2007

26-year-old and 10+7 husbands in 4 years

I have heard of people having lots of wives in Middle East and other parts of world, but 17 husbands is something strange and that too in 4 years' time! I don't think you can manage your mental and emotional health if you were that unlucky! But this story is something else.

Eunice Lopez has been charged with bigamy, accused of marrying 10 men between 2002 and 2006 without divorcing any of them, federal immigration authorities say. The Miami Herald reported Saturday that a records search by the newspaper found seven additional marriages under the bride's name and birth date.

It is told that Lopez arrived in South Florida from Cuba in 2002 and was a legal U.S. resident.

Well, it looks like the marriages have nothing to do with romance. She is told to charge her husbands an unspecified amount to help them secure immigration status and continued asking the men for money long after the wedding, threatening to expose them if they didn't pay.
Lopez was released on $18,000 bond. Her last known address was in Hialeah, just north of Miami. A telephone listing for her could not be located, and it was not known whether she had an attorney. (CBS)

Newlyweds - strange celebration

If you are newly-wed you might want to party, walk around hand-in-hand, spend your time talking romance, or something more romantic things.

But not this couple, Jeanie Dulski and Jamy Knittle, think something else is more romantic. First, they got married at Hazleton Municipal Airport, then after about 45 minutes they were flying at a height of 10,000 feet and leaped out. Yes, they think skydiving is more romantic!
Dulski thinks "Getting married is scarier than jumping out of a plane."
Scariest thing is that it was the first skydive for Dulski (although the marriage was second) and Knittle had skydived only once before.
It sure is a strangest marriage ceremony! (news)

skydive-newlywed.jpg

jueves, 13 de diciembre de 2007

$85K mobile phone bill!

I talked about Canadin Still being in the Stone Age of wireless Telecommunication where it was told that average Canadian customers pay 56% more than their U.S counterpart. But that doesn't mean a mobile phone bill needs to cost more than a BMW M5!

Piotr Staniaszek, a 20-year old oil field worker was shocked to get a C$85,000 mobile phone bill. That was all because he had used his new phone as a modem for his computer as part of C$10 unlimited browser plan from Bell Mobility, a division of Bell Canada, to download movies and other files.

Staniaszek's father who is also named Piotr Staniaszek said that Bell has agreed to reduce the charges to C$3,400 for "goodwill". But he still thinks that is a huge amount to pay for a phone bill.
"He's working in the field sometimes, alone, in the shack. What to do? Drink vodka or go on the Internet?" Staniaszek senior told Reuters on Thursday from Calgary, Alberta.

"Now it's $85,000 and nobody told him," he said.
According to the invoice, his son rang up C$60,000 in charges in November, and they have since climbed to C$85,000.
Canadians complain that their mobile phone charges are much higher for comparable service in the United States.(BBC)

killerphonebill.jpg

martes, 11 de diciembre de 2007

Michael Schumacher Drove Taxi

The seven-times world champion, Michael Schumacher, drove a taxi so that his family can catch the ariline in time. He also gave the original driver of the taxi a 100 euro ($146.6) tip on top of the 60 euro fare.

The retired Formula One champion drove the cab back to the airport himself after a trip out to the village of Gehuelz, near Coburg in southern Germany, left the family short of time to make their flight home, the Muenchner Abendzeitung newspaper reported.
Doesn't that qualify him for another title "Germany's Fastest Taxi Driver"?

"It was crazy having Schumi driving, with me in the passenger seat," the taxi driver was quoted as saying. (Reuters)

schumacher-michael.jpg

schumacher-michael.jpg

Million on cents

Children helped to collect pennies surround the 'Penny Harvest Field' which includes an estimated 100 million pennies ? plus a few nickels, dimes and quarters that slipped in by mistake.
Photo in left shows the unveiling ceremony Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 in New York. The approximately one hundred million pennies, gathered by school children across all five boroughs of New York City, filled a 165x30 foot 'Penny Harvest Field' in Rockefeller Center.
The funds will be donated to various charities.
The exhibit was designed by architect James Polshek and will be on display in Rockefeller Center, near the famous Christmas tree, through the end of the year. (commoncents.org)

penny-harvest-field-nyma.jpg

lunes, 10 de diciembre de 2007

timberhouse.jpg

Man trapped for 100 hours in a lavatory

A retired Scottish school teacher in UK was reported to be trapped in a toilet for nearly four days without any food in cold.

David Leggat was locked inside the bathroom at a lawn bowling club near the Scottish city of Aberdeen after the door jammed and the handle on the outside fell off.

The 55-year-old kept warm by dipping his feet in hot water but only managed to get about three hours' sleep a night in the freezing temperatures, the local Evening Express newspaper reported.

He was rescued when the cleaner at the club, which is little used in winter, turned up to collect her cleaning equipment.

Leggat said a survival course he had once done had helped him endure his captivity. The cleaning lady said he looked shaken and grey when he emerged. Leggat was stoical.

"At least there was a toilet to use," he said. "The only thing I regret is not getting trapped behind the bar." (Reuters)

domingo, 9 de diciembre de 2007

Survived an accident to claim a Guinness record - Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident

Matthew McKnight, 29, got hit by a car and survived after being thrown 118 feet (about the height of a 12-story building) to tell the story and secure a record for "Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident" in the 2008 edition of Guinness Book of World Records.
It was Oct. 26, 2001 while he was trying to help accident victims along Interstate 376 in Monroeville, about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh when he got hit by a car traveling at 70 mph.

He suffered two dislocated shoulders plus a broken shoulder, pelvis, leg and tailbone. He spent two weeks in the hospital and 80 days in rehab before returning to work in April 2002.
McKnight is a volunteer firefighter and paramedic, though he wasn't on duty when he stopped to help the accident victims. He works full-time as a communications specialist at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.
McKnight's emergency room physician, Dr. Eric Brader, submitted paperwork for the record, which Guinness recognized in 2003. It was not listed in the book until the 2008 edition, however. (CBS)
"I thought it was a big joke. Dr. Brader is known for joking around a lot," McKnight told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But when he brought (the paperwork) to me, I saw how serious he was."
McKnight thinks it's something that no one would try to beat! (Photo Source)

matthewmcknight.jpg

sábado, 8 de diciembre de 2007

33-cents a gallon gas!

Thanks to the mistake of a gas station employee, there was a relief for at least some time for the drivers in the rural northern Wisconsin community. 42 people bought 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons in 33 cents a gallon.

An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night. He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas.
Local police saw the horde at the station and called store manager Andrea Reuland, who went to the station and pushed the emergency stop.

"There were cars two deep at each of my pumps," said Reuland, who knew many of the drivers and told them they were being dishonest ? the main store sign had the correct price.

"I was very upset that there's that many dishonest people," she said. "They knew there was a problem, and they took advantage of an employee's mistake and I think that's terrible."
The employee, who has been there for about six months, had changed the gas prices 25 times in the past six months. "It was an honest mistake," Reuland said. "I could have done it." (yahoo news)

gasstaion.jpg

viernes, 7 de diciembre de 2007

Fake Coca-Cola in the fountains

What would you do if the taste of fountain drinks doesn't corrosponds to the label it carries? Restaurants buy Coke and other soft drinks in the form of syrup, which is converted to its drinkable form when dispensed through a carbonated water machine. Coke syrup costs more and if you can buy something similar in half the price who knows? Well, this is not always true though.

Fountain drink supplier Cecil Donald St. Pierre, 69, is charged with conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit goods, mislabeling a food product and operating a food processing plant without federal registration. He however denies federal charges that he pitched generic syrup as 'real thing' to restaurants.
St. Pierre, who operates Cecil's Fine Syrup in Oak Park, denied the charges and complained federal officials had unfairly shut down his business. He was released pending a preliminary hearing Monday.

St. Pierre said outside court he uses Coke boxes but puts his own labeling on top. His customers "know it's not Coke," St. Pierre told The Detroit News. "I'm charging $31 a box, compared to $60 a box for Coke."

St. Pierre said he will be represented by his son, attorney Cecil St. Pierre Jr., a former Warren city councilman.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration began receiving complaints about "off-taste" Coke products in the Detroit area in 2004, according to an agent's affidavit attached to the complaint. (Detroit news)
Well, he uses Coke boxes and assumes his customers - may be the retailers - know it is not coke! What about the consumer? What an argument!

prototype-contour-bottlecoke.jpg

fountaindrink.jpg

jueves, 6 de diciembre de 2007

Man With a Horn

People talk about people with horn in music and movies. But today I am not going to talk about the 1950 film "Young Man with a Horn" or the novel it was based on or the songs titled Man Horns but the real horns on real people's head! It is so strange and scary.

Ma Zhong Nan, a 93-year-old man living in a small village in China, recounts how a horn began to sprout on his head five years ago. Ma was combing his hair one day and carelessly injured his scalp. Because it was just a small wound, he did not pay much attention to it. Little did he expect that a thick, hard substance started to grow on his head. Since it did not bother him, he just ignored the growth. But the growth just kept getting bigger and harder, forming a horn of about 10cm (4 inches) long half a year later.

Two weeks ago, Ma suddenly felt itching of the horn and his children brought him to see a doctor at the local hospital. But the doctor has no explanation for it. His children are now trying to seek help through the media. (source, 2007-11-13)

In another news, an old man with horn is also spotted in Yemen.


Saleh Talib Saleh used to dream that he would grow horns on his head. He dismissed them as mere fancy at first, but then, at the ripe old age of 78, a horn did indeed begin to grow on the left side of his head, astonishing his fellow villagers. Saleh, a resident of A?dban district of the Shabwa governorate, claims that the horn started growing over 25 years ago. He has no explanation as to how the horn developed or why.

However, a large medical team at the Aden Specialized Hospital believe that the horn was caused by multiplying layers of hardened, dried skin on Saleh?s head. Eventually these layers piled up enough to become a horn. Saleh, 102, spoke to the Yemen Observer about the astonishing experience of growing horns on his head, beginning at the age of 77. The first, he said, began growing some 25 years ago, and kept growing until it reached a length of half a meter. But that horn broke off one day last year. Eight days later, another horn started growing in the same spot as the first one. This horn is currently still growing on the left side of his head. (Feb 13, 2007, Yemen Observer)

The old man told that he is grateful to God for this unique blessing.

Those two were the news article so authincity of which can't be argued upon. I found he photo shown below while searching internet so I don't know if it is for real or not. Anyway if it should be really inconvenient to have horn on top of your nose.

Well, don't know how he can wear glasses if he ever had to. It sure is a strong horn!


got photos from this link

domingo, 2 de diciembre de 2007

Japan and Workholics !

A judge ruled that a Toyota Motor Corp employee died of overwork after logging more than 106 hours of overtime in a month, reversing a ministry's earlier decision not to pay compensation to his widow.
The employee died of irregular heartbeat in February 2002 after passing out in the factory around 4 a.m.

Overworking is a serious issue in Japan, where an average worker uses less than 50 percent of paid holidays, according to government data. (Reuters)
In fiscal year only 2005-2006, the labor ministry received 315 requests for compensation from the bereaved families of workers who died of strokes and other illnesses seen as work-related. OMG, that is a huge number!