Strange & Stupid: Amusing News

from redstate.com

On a plane from Denver to Charlotte following the Democrats’ convention, I found myself seated behind former National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Don Fowler and Congressman John Spratt of South Carolina. Their conversation was interesting to say the least.

For example, they made fun of Sarah Palin for several minutes, Fowler calling her “Dan Quayle” on steroids and Spratt creatively describing her as “just terrible.” They both agreed that, “Other than the simple fact that she’s a female,” she has nothing to offer.

Then there was this gem of a moment from Fowler:

So you see, it’s funny. That New Orleans will get a hurricane. That’s funny because it is due to hit when President Bush is scheduled to speak. Isn’t that cool? Fowler isn’t the only one who thinks so, just ask Michael Moore.
We all know Democrats used and use Katrina as a political football as callously as possible. Here’s a candid moment showing some can hardly wait for another one.

All Class.

BREAKING: Statement from SCGOP Chairman Katon Dawson

“The outrageous behavior of two of the Obama campaign’s highest profile supporters in the south is despicable, a cynical politization of life and death. I call on Barack Obama to immediately denounce Fowler and Spratt and demand sincere apologies from these members of the Democratic leadership.”

Google Earth, proving its awesome once again, has now helped researchers find that herds of cattle tend to face in the north-south direction of Earth’s magnetic lines.

Their field observations of red and roe deer also showed those animals facing toward magnetic north or south, a strange “sixth sense” to detect magnetism.

“Google Earth is perfect for this kind of research, because the animals are undisturbed by the observer,” said Sabine Begall, a zoologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany and coauthor on the study detailed in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wind and time of day did not offer better explanations for why 8,510 cattle in 308 locations around the world would mostly face north-south. Shadows suggested that many of the images were taken on cloudless, sunny days, so Begall’s group also factored in direct ground observations of cattle herds.

Both cattle and deer faced a more magnetic north-south direction rather than geographic north-south, (Earth’s magnetic poles do not line up perfectly with the North and South Poles).

Previous research has shown that animals such as birds, turtles and salmon migrate using a sense of magnetic direction, and small mammals such as rodents and one bat species also have a magnetic compass.

Barack Obama’s run for the presidency has launched many different grassroots campaigns. The most interesting may be the revival of the Grateful Dead.

I am told that on Oct. 13, possibly either in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, the Dead will get back together for at least one show to raise money for and awareness about Obama.

All four living original members will play together — Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann. The band’s leader, Jerry Garcia, died in 1995 from a heart attack.

Substituting for Garcia will be Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule master musician Warren Haynes.

If all goes well, my sources say, the band will then set out on a major tour in summer 2009.

yikes. new summer plans?
hahaha

At a research facility on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, ringed by beautiful snow-capped mountains,the military is testing new and strange uniforms.

The aluminium limbs gleam in the brilliant sunshine, as the strange metal skeleton hangs from a safety harness at the outdoor testing site. It seems to be treading water; actually its programme is telling it to keep the hydraulic fluid in its joints moving.

Rex Jameson, a software engineer here at laboratories run by Sarcos, the robotics firm which designed the XOS exoskeleton, steps up and into the suit.

The lightweight aluminium exoskeleton, called XOS, senses Rex’s every move and instantly moves with him; it is almost like a shadow or a second skin. It is designed for agility that can match a human’s, but with strength and endurance that far outweigh our abilities.

For the army the XOS could mean quicker supply lines, or fewer injuries when soldiers need to lift heavy weights or move objects around repeatedly. Initial models would be used as workhorses, on the logistics side.

Later models, the army hopes, could go into combat, carrying heavier weapons, or even wounded colleagues.

A man who ram-raided a supermarket clad only in a sheet and a pair of Ugg boots has been jailed for four years.

David Ball, 32, from Tyseley, Birmingham, was drunk when he raided the supermarket and stole cigarettes.

He then led police on a high-speed car chase through Warwickshire before being arrested after the incident in April.

Ball was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for aggravated vehicle taking, burglary, driving with excess alcohol and other driving offences.

Ball was two-and-half times over the drink-driving limit when he was arrested on 16 April and told police he had no recollection of the offence and had been asleep in the back of the car.

However, when shown the CCTV footage, he said he remembered the crime and pleaded guilty. And this guilty plea was taken into consideration for the sentencing.

The court heard how an “extremely drunk” Ball had got up in the middle of the night and stolen his girlfriend Tricia Dowling’s Ugg boots and Renault Clio before the crime.
The prosecution told the court Ball had “very little recollection” of the night.

They say cats have nine lives - so meet Des, who has 26 toes. While most pet cats have 18 - five on their front paws and four on their rear - the 10-year-old boasts seven on his front and six on his back paws.

The extra digits have left owner Alison Thomas, of Felindre, near Swansea, pondering whether it is a UK record.

One expert said cats with extra toes were common in the area around the old county of Cardiganshire and were sometimes known as “Cardi-cats”.

An animal with too many toes is called a polydactyl.

There are unconfirmed reports in north America of cats with up to 28 toes - but Mrs Thomas cannot find records closer to home.

Mother-of-three Mrs Thomas said: “He came to us when he was about six months old - he just turned up on the doorstep and it was even more noticeable then because his paws were so big.

“The first thing people say when they see him even now is ‘look at his paws’.

The world record might belong to a cat called Mickey Mouse who was owned by Renee Delgade of Westlake Village, California, in 1974.
It had 32 toes, but there are doubts about the record as Mickey may have had “double paw” condition and may not have been a pure polydactyl.

I think I did a bloggie about this in the past, but I was reminded of it.
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Another such belief is “telegony,” which goes back to Aristotle; it alleged that the heredity of an individual is influenced not only by his father but also by males with whom the female may have mated and who have caused previous pregnancies.
wait, what? He goes even farther:
offspring can inherit the characteristics of a previous mate of the female parent; thus the child of a widowed or remarried woman might partake of traits of a previous husband.

Even Darwin, as late as 1868, seriously discussed an alleged case of telegony: that of a mare mated to a zebra and subsequently to an Arabian stallion, by whom the mare produced a foal with faint stripes on his legs. The simple explanation for this result is that such stripes occur naturally in some breeds of horses.

First, go to this link and listen to the station.
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Dawn Girocco Now An Indie Free Agent
ENTRAVISION Alternative KDLD-KDLE (INDIE 103.1)/LOS ANGELES GM DAWN GIROCCO makes an exit, she tells ALL ACCESS that she will have a new position to announce, shortly. JASON SHELDEN takes her place.

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MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - A motel in northern Mexico is putting steel doors on its rooms to protect guests from kidnappings and shootings in an escalating war between rival drug cartels.

Owners of the Rancho El Trueno, or Thunder Ranch, began fortifying the highway motel near Monterrey a year ago but have decided to shield all 35 rooms as drug killings have worsened in the area in recent months.

Complete with hot tubs, red imitation-leather beds, mirrored walls and striptease poles, the rooms are shuttered behind steel gates about 1.5 inches thick and some already have steel doors.

“We want people to have fun and be able to feel safe. Lovers come, big groups come, we are full on weekends,” said Emilio Massa, the motel manager.

He said the owners came up with the idea after guests in nearby motels were shot and kidnapped.

“Do drug gangs come? Well you never know, do you?” Massa said to the grating sound of machines cutting steel doors to put on the rooms.

Thunder Ranch charges 150 pesos ($13.80) for three hours or 400 pesos a night for a room. It also boasts a huge suite with a swimming pool, palm trees, a water slide, a sauna, pool tables and video screens.

“Our suite is booked up weeks ahead of time,” Massa said.