Canada, eh?

Man texts naked photo of girlfriend's daughter to teach her a lesson

2012-01-30T16:13:00.002-05:00

A man is in custody after allegedly texting a naked photo of his girlfriend's daughter to nearly 40 contacts in the girl's cellphone.

Eugene Foster, 31, was arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor, said Elias Johnson of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

Foster found a photo the girl, who is a student at Poston Butte High School in San Tan Valley, had taken of herself, and decided to teach her a lesson by sending the photo to contacts in her phone. Investigators do not believe Foster was intentionally trying to exploit the child.

When the officials at Florence Unified School District learned about the incident, they contacted parents, asking them to immediately delete the text if they or their children received it. They also advised parents to have a conversation with their kids to explain that sharing nude photos of minors, whether by text message, e-mail or via the Internet, is illegal under state and federal child pornography laws and that the penalties and consequences of such action can be severe.

I bet his girlfriend is real happy with him these days. Parenting might not be this guy's strong point. So if his kid brought home poor grades from school would he pull them out of school to teach them a lesson? How about not feeding his kid for a week for not finishing dinner? He can write his parenting book while in prison.

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Sign of the day

2012-01-30T16:07:00.002-05:00

Where did I park my car?

2012-01-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

David Letterman's 30th Anniversary week

2012-01-30T15:40:00.002-05:00

David Letterman began his late night show on NBC on February 1, 1982. I loved the show and Dave's wit and sarcasm. It was cutting edge back then but no longer. You need to watch Jon Stewart for that. Today he is a cranky old codger but I still enjoy him.

With Larry 'Bud' Melman

What do they mean by Barbie squirts?

2012-01-29T17:11:00.002-05:00

How political parties view each other

2012-01-29T16:40:00.002-05:00

Canada is celebrating man boobs week

2012-01-29T07:48:00.002-05:00

Sign of the day

2012-01-28T16:01:00.002-05:00

Toys for toddlers

2012-01-28T16:00:00.001-05:00

Proposed Bill would ban using human fetuses in food

2012-01-28T15:48:00.003-05:00

Oklahoma state senator Ralph Shortey is concerned about the possibility that some nefarious person or entity is using aborted human fetuses in food, and has introduced legislation to put a stop to this. Or, to keep it from starting, because he isn't exactly sure that anybody's really doing this, or how or where they'd be doing it if they were. Still, can't be too careful.

SB 1418 is, at least for the moment, just this one sentence:

No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.

He would only talk about the second clause, on research and development, which really seems to be about stem cells. According to Shortey, there are companies out there "using embryonic stem cells to research and basically cause a chemical reaction to determine whether or not something tastes good or not." He said he read last year that a pro-life group was boycotting an unnamed company for this, and I guess if you've read someplace that somebody is upset about something that might be happening somewhere in the world, that's really all you need to know before writing a law banning what you believe that thing to be.

What's really going on? NPR noted that Shortey may have heard of a company that has a patent for what is "essentially an automated taste test," a patent that does mention a widely used stem-cell line originally cultured from human embryonic kidney cells. The company has denied it's using these cells, but let's assume it is. Based on the patent, it looks like the plan is to extract proteins from the cells and put them in some sort of testing array to see if the proteins react to various flavor compounds. It would not be putting any of the cells into food. Hence, no fetal burritos. And since the cell line has been around for 40 years, research using it does not seem to pose a threat to the fetuses of today. So that second clause only seems to make sense if you oppose any stem cell research of any kind under any circumstances. Which, coincidentally, Shortey does.

By the way, Taco Bell won a lawsuit earlier this year in which plaintiffs alleged its food contained less than 100% USDA-inspected premium beef. So it may comfort you to know that its burritos have been inspected fairly recently.

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Getting your OCD under control

2012-01-28T15:42:00.002-05:00

Canada is celebrating man boobs week

2012-01-28T10:57:00.002-05:00

Sign of the day

2012-01-27T23:29:00.002-05:00

What's Alex Ovechkin doing during the All-Star break?

2012-01-27T16:50:00.004-05:00

Yeah it looks like he is really going to miss playing in the game.

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Flashback Friday - Otis Redding

2012-01-27T16:16:00.002-05:00

Switzerland building a village for people with dementia

2012-01-27T16:10:00.003-05:00

Its detractors may end up dubbing it "Dementiaville", but Switzerland is brushing aside a debate raging among geriatric-care experts with plans to build a mock-1950s village catering exclusively for elderly sufferers of Alzheimer's and other debilitating mental illnesses. The newly approved €20m (£17m) housing project is to be built next to the Swiss village of Wiedlisbach near Bern and will provide sheltered accommodation and care for 150 elderly dementia patients in 23 purpose-built 1950s-style houses. The homes will be deliberately designed to recreate the atmosphere of times past.

The scheme's promoters said there will be no closed doors and residents will be free to move about. To reinforce an atmosphere of normality, the carers will dress as gardeners, hairdressers and shop assistants. The only catch is that Wiedlisbach's inhabitants will not be allowed to leave the village. A similar pioneering, yet controversial, approach to geriatric mental care is already under way in Holland, where the Hogewey nursing home for dementia sufferers was set up in an Amsterdam suburb in 2009. Its residents pay €5,000 a month to live in a world of carefully staged illusion.

I'm thinking this could be the plot for a terrific movie, maybe the next National Lampoon Vacation film. Family's care breaks down outside the quaint 50s style village where everyone is old and acting kooky. Then Cousin Eddie shows up....you get the picture.

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Woman stays in crashed rental car for a week just yards from help because she was told 'not to leave vehicle if stranded'

2012-01-27T15:44:00.003-05:00

A Texas woman who drove her rental car into a muddy pond in Idaho spent a week in the stranded vehicle before going to ask for help. Lynn S. Keesler, a Houston resident, said she survived on peanut butter M&Ms and water inside her car while it was stuck.

The 61-year-old had thought she saw a river she had to cross to reach a hotel in Burley, Idaho, but the body of water turned out to be a dairy's wastewater pond. Keesler tried to drive around it but got stuck in mud in the pond.

She later told police she stayed inside the car because she had been told not to leave her vehicle if it became stranded. She flashed her headlights throughout the first night until the battery went dead. She finally left the car Sunday, Jan. 22, when the water level began to rise in the pond and went to a nearby house for help.

Kind of reminds me about the old Polish joke (yes politically incorrect) about the Polish man who had to call EMS because he locked his keys in his car with his family. I can't wait to see the movie version of this story. Maybe the can get Helen Mirren for the lead role.

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Keesler thought she had only been stranded for three to five days, according to a Cassia County Sheriff's Department report, but a deputy said he had given her directions to the hotel on Jan. 15. She was examined by paramedics but declined to go to the hospital, claiming she only needed "a warm bed and a bath."

Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-27T15:38:00.003-05:00

One of the best deals in Richmond Hill is the Richmond Grill, 10165 Yonge Street. Been going there for years.

Robert Hegyes (aka Juan Luis Pedro Philippo DeHuevos Epstein) dead at age 60

2012-01-26T23:35:00.002-05:00

Sign of the day - Paula Dean edition

2012-01-26T23:09:00.003-05:00

How do you support Lantinos? Eat tacos!

2012-01-26T19:34:00.003-05:00

Four East Haven police officers were indicted on Tuesday for illegally targeting the Latino community, prompting Mayor Joseph Maturo to voice his support of the embattled officers. When asked by a New York City-based WPIX reporter what he’s doing to support Latinos, the Republican mayor said, “I might have tacos when I go home.”

Maturo, who was a former five-term mayor before being elected again in November, apologized for the comment later on Wednesday. According to WFSB, Reform Immigration for America said anyone who "texted "Taco" to 69866 it would send a taco on their behalf." 500 tacos have been sent.

His explanation sounded worse the longer he spoke. He should have quit about 30 seconds in. Good to know he likes ethnic food.

Ex-wife forcing Trekkie to sell apartment decorated like the Starship Enterprise

2012-01-26T18:09:00.003-05:00

Star Trek fan Tony Alleyne spent ten years turning his flat in to the interior of the Starship Enterprise — but must now rip it out because his ex is selling up.

Tony transformed the one-bedroom flat to look like the famous flight deck — with a computer console, flashing lights and even "transporters".

He built it himself — and says it would cost at least £100,000 to do it again from scratch.

Tony, 58, is getting a divorce from wife Georgina who owns the flat in Hinckley, Leics, and wants to sell.

Tony said: "To say I'm gutted is an understatement. It is my life's work — and it looks like it's going into a skip. I admit there were tears."

Georgina, 52 — who has paid the mortgage since they split in 1994 — said: "I want to sell it as conventional property."

Talk about revenge of the "ex". She takes him to the cleaner and then he likely doesn't have enough cash to buy the apartment so his life's work goes down the drain. Of course Trekkies really don't have much of a life to speak of. All he'll have aresome tear-stained photos of where his $150,000 went.

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Who needs color?

2012-01-26T17:56:00.002-05:00

Teen has lived on Chicken McNuggets for 15 years

2012-01-26T11:53:00.002-05:00

A teenage girl who has eaten almost nothing else apart from chicken nuggets for 15 years has been warned by doctors that the junk food is killing her.

Stacey Irvine, 17, has been hooked on the treats since her mother bought her some at a McDonald’s restaurant when she was two.

Shocked doctors learned of her habit when the factory worker, from Castle Vale, Birmingham, collapsed and was taken to hospital after struggling to breathe.

Miss Irvine, who has never eaten fruit or vegetables, had swollen veins in her tongue and was found to have anaemia.

Yet, despite a diet that regularly means she eats at least a third more than the 56g of fat recommended by experts, she manages to keep relatively trim.

This may be down to the amount of exercise she does or to her metabolism.

My daughter at 2 also loved Chicken McNuggets but I made her eat real food. Today she is a grown adult and mad that I ever fed her the stuff. So this is how those yummy nuggets are made.

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Bank robber shoots himself in the foot

2012-01-26T11:42:00.003-05:00

Security camera footage from Brazil shows how a hapless bank robber was quite literally the architect of his own downfall. CCTV from a bank in northern Paraná, Brazil recorded the action when three armed men stormed the building on Monday.

All appeared to be running smoothly for the trio of thieves as the security guards quickly capitulated and the bank tellers handed over around 30,000 Brazilian reais (£11,000) to them. Unfortunately the check-shirted man who was acting as the lookout at the front door was armed with two pistols and an apparent itchy-trigger finger.

Idly fumbling with one of the weapons he managed to accidentally shoot himself in the foot with the gun in his right hand. He is last seen on the CCTV limping from the bank behind his two accomplices.

The following day the bungling robber was arrested at a hospital a short distance from the bank. In total, police believe six men participated in the assault, despite only three of them appearing on camera. As well as the criminal who managed to shot himself, one other man has so far been arrested.

It's a good thing the police caught up with these guys before they kill themselves. I watched this video over and over again and couldn't stop laughing.

Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-26T07:25:00.003-05:00

One of my favourite downtown places is Edward Levesques's Kitchen at 1290 Queens Street East for its electic menu that uses lots of local produce.

Cop accused of flashing woman claims innocence because he's circumcised

2012-01-25T12:34:00.004-05:00

A cop who was fired for flashing a suspect says he’s innocent — and that the proof is in his pants.

Owen Hopper’s lawsuit against the NYPD says the woman who accused him insisted he was uncircumcised but he has evidence his foreskin was removed in childhood.

He said a hearing officer’s ruling that arousal can make it difficult to determine if the sex organ is uncut was just wrong-headed.

“At no point during the trial was an expert called to render an opinion,” the court papers say.

The accuser, who is not named, “repeatedly stated and testified that she unequivocally and clearly saw the petitioner’s penis and it was uncircumcised,” the suit says.

Hopper says he submitted evidence he was circumcised as a child but hearing officer Robert Vinal didn’t believe him and “unjustly concluded an erect circumcised penis and an uncircumcised penis will appear the same” when aroused.

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Mom pissed after finding her baby in daycare with dead mouse in her mouth

2012-01-25T12:19:00.004-05:00

A Newark mom has yanked her 8-month-old daughter from a local daycare center and is slamming the center's staff as too lax after her tot was reportedly found with a dead mouse stuffed in her mouth.

Britanny Barba told ABC 7 News that her baby girl, Alanah, was ill for hours after her mother-in-law, a volunteer at the Donald K Tucker Childcare, discovered the child with the rodent in her mouth on Friday.

"Lately she's been vomiting. Everything she's eaten, she's throwing it back up," Barba said.

"Who was watching her?"

The executive director of the center, Kiburi Tucker, apologized for the incident, saying staff members he spoke to told him the child must have gobbled up the vermin when teachers weren't looking.

"This was an isolated incident, a very unfortunate incident, and it really hurt me. I was up all night about this because it could have been my child," Tucker, a father of five, told ABC 7.

Tucker said he called the state health department to the center for advice on how to fight the pest problem, and promised that an exterminator would now visit the center twice a month, rather than once a month.

Despite the stepped up efforts, Barba said she wouldn't trust the daycare to look after her child.

Can you imagine the spin coming out of that daycare staff. We have introduced a new protocol to check inside the kids' mouths throughout the day. Or we have never had an incident between our kids and vermin in the history of this facility. Or we have instituted a new protocol where we inspect the place for dead rodents each morning before the children arrive. Hey, it's Newark.

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Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-25T08:39:00.003-05:00

When it comes to night clubs, Hugh's Room, 2261 Dundas Street West is the place to go. Food is barely passable but they bring in great jazz, folk and roots music, from Al Stewart to Richie Havens, Judy Collins to Jesse Winchester. It's probably the premier music venue in Toronto because of its small, intimate environment. I'm literally sitting a few feet from the stage.

Hump day hottie

2012-01-25T08:37:00.003-05:00

Julianne Hough

Woman, enraged over prank, fires round at teen

2012-01-24T19:30:00.001-05:00

Playing "ding dong ditch" is a time-old tradition among suburban teens, but, kids, you should know that some of your targets may be armed. On Long Island, a 47-year-old woman was so fed up with someone ringing her doorbell and running away on Sunday night that on the third time, she took out her 9mm and fired a round outside her Rockville Centre home. And when she spotted a teen walking down the street outside her home a little while later, she stopped him and pointed her gun at him.

The Nassau County police say that Bernadette Greenwald held the teen "at gunpoint until police arrive[d]." Then cops determined that the teen had nothing to do with the prank and let him go...and arrested her.

Greenwald was charged with second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a dangerous weapon.

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Joe Paterno died of lung cancer

2012-01-24T17:14:00.002-05:00

It is tragic how Joe Paterno's career and life ended yet it was as a result of his own actions. Lung cancer was the cause of death but if you search the Internet you will be find the silliest causes of death. Here is just a sample:

Penn State Board of Trustees

The Internet

Jerry Sandusky

A Broken Heart

Twitter

The Media

Penn State

The list goes on...

Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-24T17:10:00.002-05:00

Forget about Starbucks, my favourite coffee shop is not local so I rarely get there. It's Jet Fuel Coffee Shop , 519 Parliament Street.

Is this considered littering?

2012-01-24T17:04:00.001-05:00

Saudi female driver who defied ban dies in fatal accident

2012-01-24T16:48:00.002-05:00

A Saudi woman who defied a driving ban in the kingdom was injured and her companion killed when their car overturned in the northern Hael province, a police spokesman said on Monday.

The icon of the campaign to defy the driving ban, Manal al-Sherif, a 32-year-old computer security consultant, was arrested on May 22 and detained for 10 days after posting on YouTube a video of herself driving her car around the eastern city of Khobar.

"One woman was immediately killed and her companion who was driving the car was hospitalised after she suffered several injuries" when their four-wheel-drive vehicle overturned late on Saturday, said police spokesman Abdulaziz al-Zunaidi.

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.

However, they get behind the wheel in desert regions away from the capital.

There have been several incidents reported in recent years of women being killed in accidents while driving despite the ban, one of a host of restrictions imposed on women in the kingdom.

Talk about irony! But this should not be shocking. Saudi women who defy the driving ban put themselves at risk because they do not undergo proper drivers training. As a result they are at considerable risk of being injured or killed.

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Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

My choice for pizza is Camarra Pizzeria and Ristorante at 2899 Dufferin St

Teen calls police because mom is having loud sex

2012-01-23T23:54:00.002-05:00

According to The Smoking Gun, the 15-year-old girl asked police to place her in a Christian children's shelter after she was awakened by her 35-year-old mother having sex with a boyfriend. The teen's room is right next door to her mom's, but the mother said that her lovemaking was not intended to be so noisy. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and the daughter decided she would not go to the Christian shelter after all.

28 year old single mother banned from every nightclub in town for being 'too old to wear skimpy outfits'

2012-01-23T23:34:00.005-05:00

With a size six figure and 36DD chest, this petite blonde thought she would have no trouble getting into a nightclub.

But 28-year-old Lisa Woodman has been banned from every hotspot in her home town - after being told she is too old to wear skimpy outfits.

The furious mother-of-four was barred from three venues in Worcester, West Midlands, because of her low-cut tops, short skirts and knee-length boots.

Ms Woodman, who is 5ft 3in, admitted she liked to flaunt her figure but claimed her outfits were conservative compared with those of younger girls.

She was left in tears on New Year's Eve when doormen at Mode nightclub turned her away and told her: 'You're too old to wear that get-up.'

Ms Woodman has also been banned from the city's other two nightclubs - Tramps and Velvet.

All three, owned by the same company in Worcester, said the ban will stay unless she tones down her appearance.

Ms Woodman, a medical secretary at a hospital hygiene company, said: 'What's wrong with what I wear?

'I'm not hurting anyone, am I? I am covering everything, and I just want to have a good time.

'When I asked the bouncers why me and my sister weren't allowed in, they just said "You're too old to wear that get-up".

'I couldn't believe it. I'm only 28 and still consider myself young.'

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Strip club launches 'Alibi' aftershave to recreate scent of the office

2012-01-23T09:03:00.002-05:00

You're home late, your clothes are dishevelled you smell of alcohol. How do you convince your better half you really weren’t out on the tiles?

The answer may be here... in the form of a new range of aftershaves designed to throw suspicious wives and girlfriends off the scent.

The Alibi range can mask the smell of a heavy night with aromas linked to more wholesome activities.

For example, My Car Broke Down is said to recreate the scent of fuel, burnt rubber, grease and steel, while I Was Working Late packs the odour of coffee, wool suits, cigarettes and ink.

The three fragrances, which cost £24 a bottle, were launched by South African lap dancing club Mavericks, which said it never expected the idea to take off.

But it has been inundated with orders from countries in the Far East and Europe – including Britain.

A brilliant product. In fact I have some ideas for some additional scents like I Was Working Out At The Gym which would recreate the smell of sweaty workout clothes and I Was Visiting A Sick Colleague In The Hospital which would smell like vile disinfectants.

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Steve Tyler's Star-Spangled Banner was not the worst

2012-01-22T20:54:00.002-05:00

A lot of people are dumping on Steve Tyler who today sang the National Anthem at NFL playoff game in New England. Sure it was bad and he messed up the words about half way through but Roseanne Barr beats that hands down. Below is Roseanne in 1990.

Favourite restaurants week

2012-01-22T17:30:00.001-05:00

Breakfast- What A Bagel Eatery - 8010 Bathurst Street, Thornhill

Satellite photo of Costa Concordia shipwreck

2012-01-22T17:04:00.003-05:00

How to develop diabetes

2012-01-22T16:58:00.002-05:00

Sign of the day

2012-01-22T16:50:00.000-05:00

Couple tries to blow up car with tampons

2012-01-22T16:46:00.004-05:00

A pair of Pennsylvanians got a little trashed one night earlier this month and attempted to beat the crap out of a Ford Fusion. When they realized their fists and feet could only do so much damage they then tried to blow up the car. With tampons. Sadly, it didn't work.

Patricia Elyse Deshong, 25, and Quentin Adam Deshong, 22, were arrested on January 7th outside the Hillside Tavern in Metal Township, Penn., after someone called the police complaining they were pummeling a 2006 Ford Fusion.

Police found numerous wires and hoses disconnected from the engine, dents on the side, smashed windows, and blood in the seats. Police also found tampons shoved in both the oil cap and the gas tank, with ashes in the area of both openings. Investigators suspect they tried to blow up the car using the tampons.

After the pair were arrested the car's owner, Falon Leigh Clark, arrived in a pickup truck being driven by Gary Scott Boggs. Because this is rural Pennsylvania, it turns out Boggs was drunk and tried to flee the scene but was captured.

When Patricia Deshong was being booked she proceeded to threaten to kill the trooper who handcuffed her to a bench. Lovely pair, them.

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Man claims wife was punched and strangled by ghost

2012-01-22T16:44:00.000-05:00

A Fond du Lac man was arrested after he told police a “ghost” punched and strangled his wife.

Michael F. West, 41, of 281 Fond du Lac Ave., was charged Wednesday with strangulation and misdemeanors of battery, disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing an officer.

At about 8 p.m. Jan. 15, police arrived at West’s home to find the woman crying and bleeding from her nose.

According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint:

The woman was upset after West blamed her for the house being foreclosed. When the woman pointed out that she works while West sits on the couch, he became angry.

West strangled the woman twice. He then told her to call the police. As she went to grab the phone, West punched her repeatedly in the face.

West told police the woman got her injuries from falling. When asked specifically about the neck injuries, West responded, “A ghost did it.”

Officers had to struggle with an intoxicated West to place him in handcuffs after he made the ghost comment.

The woman said West has made comments about killing her.

Murdering husbands trying to point the finger at someone else seems to be a trend. Like that guy who is blaming the family dog for strangling his wife. That's a bit of a stretch but a ghost? That requires a judge or jury in believing in paranormal occurences. This guy should have tried to blame al Qaeda.

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Sign of the day

2012-01-21T14:42:00.000-05:00

Man dressed up as dead sister to get prescription drugs

2012-01-21T14:37:00.002-05:00

An Athens man is accused of going to some creative means to get his hands on prescription drugs.

Witnesses say Douglas Gregory Nichols, on two separate occasions, wore a wig and makeup to pick up prescriptions that belonged to his sister, who died less than a day before the first incident, said Athens Police Sgt. Detective Heith Willis.

"We are assuming he was doing that to look more like the relative," Willis said.

"It is unbelievable to me," he said later.

Nichols' first attempt worked, but on the second try pharmacy staff recognized he wasn't the rightful owner.

Nichols was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for prescription fraud. He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of schedule II drugs, two counts of prescription fraud, criminal impersonation, parole violation, false impersonation, possession of schedule IV drugs and introduction to a penal facility.

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Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-21T00:04:00.001-05:00

Requiem to Kodak

2012-01-20T12:48:00.004-05:00

The demise of Kodak is not a surprise since there have been so many companies that have failed to keep up with technological advances. Even at one time cutting edge companies like Kodak. Our first camera when we were kids was this Kodak Brownie that I believe used 127 film.

Our next camera was the Instamatic with the flashcubes. Our first took 126 film and then they introduced cameras with 110 film which was a cartridge so any idiot could load the film.
There was a short-lived disc camera that followed. It had a disk, a variation on the cartridge.

In the 1980s I moved up the the 35mm camera. Bought fancy lenses. I was better with the instant cameras which is why digital was the way to go for me.

Flashback Friday - Boz Scaggs

2012-01-20T12:14:00.002-05:00

Why politicians support SOPA

2012-01-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

30-year heart specialist turns out to be a carpenter

2012-01-20T11:19:00.003-05:00

A bogus doctor who operated as a heart specialist for more than 30 years has been exposed as a carpenter without a single medical qualification to his name.

Self-styled expert Vladimiro Colloca, 58, is understood to have been consulted by thousands of patients around Milan, Italy, in three decades of posing as a cardiac specialist, say prosecutors.

He was caught out when some of his patients mentioned him in consultations with real heart experts, who had never heard of him.

Police are now investigating his extensive patient records to establish if any of them died or suffered as a result of his treatment.

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Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-20T11:15:00.001-05:00

Penelope Cruz

Sarah Burke: 1982 - 2012

2012-01-19T21:49:00.003-05:00

Sad news out of University of Utah Hospital today, where champion freestyle skier Sarah Burke passed away after succumbing to injuries she sustained following a training accident.

Too young. Too talented.

This is why the National Equirer is so well respected

2012-01-19T15:26:00.003-05:00

...it's their indepth investigative reporting that stands out.

School can't use Cougars as mascot because it might be offensive to middle-aged horny women

2012-01-19T13:12:00.004-05:00

Students at a new Utah high school are facing disappointment after their choice for a new school mascot was rejected for one of the strangest reasons possible: Board members deemed it might be seen as offensive to middle-aged women.

As reported by Salt Lake City Fox affiliate KTSU, Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon High announced its new mascot and school colors on Wednesday, with Canyons School District officials proclaiming that the school's teams will be called the Chargers, using a blue and white color scheme.

That's all fine and good except for the fact that the school's future student body -- which was given the opportunity to select its own future mascot -- had chosen to be the Cougars. With some 23 percent of the student vote, the Cougar choice was far preferred to other options, which included the Chargers, Diamondbacks, Falcons, Raptors, Broncos, Bears and Cavaliers.

The reason why the future student body gravitated toward Cougars is pretty clear: area collegiate power BYU uses the Cougar as its mascot and enjoys an enormous fan base of area residents and those who follow the Mormon faith (BYU is a Mormon institution).

Still, the Canyons School Board refused to accept the Cougar as a mascot out of fear that it might offend older women. In the current edition of the Webster Dictionary, the second definition for cougar sights a slang terminology that refers to "a middle-aged woman seeking a romantic relationship with a younger man."

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Sign of the day

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

I used to be funny

2012-01-19T08:52:00.001-05:00

Some movie-goers complaining silent film 'The Artist' has no dialogue

2012-01-19T08:29:00.003-05:00

For those who have been wondering what could possibly be more ridiculous than that lawsuit filed last fall by a Detroit woman who expected ”Drive” to be more like “The Fast and the Furious,” here is your answer.

The Telegraph has reported that a “small number of refunds” have been issued to moviegoers in the United Kingdom who complained because “The Artist” — a movie that is quite clear about the fact that it is a silent film — doesn’t have any spoken dialogue in it. It's SILENT.

“Odeon Liverpool One can confirm it has issued a small number of refunds to guests who were unaware that The Artist was a silent film,” a spokesperson for the theater chain tells the British newspaper.

It's like going to see the 'Lion King' and then complaining that it was animated. But I'm not surprised, countless times I have heard friends complain about films because of the content. Invariable when I ask did you not read the review - the answer is no. Isn't it the responsibility of the film-goer to be informed of the content as opposed to the theatre informing their customers?

Employee fired for working through lunch break

2012-01-19T08:19:00.002-05:00

A receptionist that was fired because she continued to work during her lunch break was finally awarded her unemployment benefits. A Chicago judge ruled that the decision to deny her benefits - which then started a two-year battle - was 'clearly erroneous'. The row started when Sharon Smiley, 48, punched out for lunch in January 2010 but then remained at her desk to finish up an extra assignment that she had been given. Ms Smiley had worked at the real estate firm for 10 years at that point and was very familiar with the policy of taking a mandatory 30 minute break for lunch.

On that particular Thursday, Ms Smiley didn't want anything to eat, so she stayed at her desk and worked. 'I thought, "Well, I'm not hungry; I'll just do this work … so when I get back from lunch, I can do my original work that I'm supposed to be doing,"' she said. A manager approached her and told her to take her break. When she remained at her desk, the manager got human resources involved, who argued that she was violating Illinois Labour Laws that require employers to give their workers a break.

Her employers, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc., were likely already wary about Ms Smiley's workload since a stroke in July of the previous year which prompted her to miss about three months of work. Legally, the company had a right to be concerned about Ms Smiley's over-eager behaviour: the law says that employers are liable if they knowingly allow their employees to work during lunch. The company then fired her on the grounds that her refusal to go to lunch - the first time she'd ever done so - qualified as insubordination and considered her behaviour misconduct. On those grounds, they were able to deny payment of her unemployment benefits.

After pleading her case to lawyers who thought she was a lost cause, Ms Smiley decided to embark on the legal battle solo. Finally, after three denials from the state employment review board as well as a circuit court appeal all of which lasted two years, a judge ruled in her favour. Ms Smiley was awarded a percentage of her one-time salary and then $528 every two weeks until she found another job from the point the order was made. Thankfully, that wasn't too long: Ms Smiley is now a receptionist at a different company. It was never her intention to ask for her old job back, she was just looking for the unemployment benefits.

Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-19T08:13:00.003-05:00

Kate Hudson

Win A Dream Holiday: Worst ad placement ever

2012-01-18T23:11:00.001-05:00

Mugshot of the Week

2012-01-18T23:04:00.003-05:00

Oh my God - his t-shirt! No better example of irony considering today was Internet blackout day.

We just lost another Puck Bunny

2012-01-18T22:57:00.002-05:00

Looks like the Rangers are going to have to find a new good luck charm. Olivia Munn and her NHL boyfriend Brad Richards have called it quits.

The two started dating in November. Since the New York Rangers player has been dating Munn, the Rangers have become the third best team, in terms of points, in NHL history with a 24-6-1 season and 129 points.

Sign of the day

2012-01-18T19:46:00.002-05:00

Girl dresses as a guy to grope other girls

2012-01-18T09:17:00.001-05:00

Gemma Barker, 19, posed as different people on the internet and managed to deceive two 16 year-old girls by having real-life dating relationships with them. Ms. Barker dressed up as a teenaged boy and went out to meet the girls, even tricking one of the girl’s parents by her disguise. Prosecutors claim that Barker kissed, cuddled and groped the girls.

She created three personalities – Aaron Lampard, Conor McCormack and Luke Jones. Each had a Facebook profile, email addresses and phone numbers, where she would use the identities and introduced and communicated herself as one of them when the occasion arose. There, prosecutors say that she sought the two girls because she knew both of them previously from parties.

Barker put on baggy clothes and hats to hide her gender. She was apparently told by the two girls on separate occasions on what the ideal boy is and perhaps took it too far by trying to manifest herself as that person.

Barker has plead guilty to two counts of sexual assault, where she could face up to two years in prison and is on the Sex Offenders Register. She is currently out on bail and awaiting sentencing.

source

Indonesia to use contrete balls to knock trainer surfers off trains so they won't accidently fall off

2012-01-18T09:04:00.004-05:00

Railway staff in Indonesia have started hanging concrete balls above train tracks to try to prevent commuters from riding on carriage roofs. The first balls were installed just above carriage-height near a station outside the capital, Jakarta. More will be put up elsewhere if they are found to keep people off the roofs.

Previous attempts to deter roof riders included spraying roofs with paint, spreading oil on carriages and hiring musicians to perform safety songs. Those initiatives have failed. Officials hope that the latest move will prove to be the ultimate deterrent. Roof riders also face the possibility of imprisonment. The balls - which can deliver a severe blow to the head - will be suspended a few inches above the tops of carriages at points where trains enter or pull out of stations, or where they go through crossings.

Officials said that "roof surfing" can be extremely dangerous. In 2008 at least 53 passengers died in an accident while travelling on a train roof. In 2011, 11 people were killed. Most victims are electrocuted by overhead power cables, but some fall off train carriages while trains are moving. Officials say they have tried everything to stop the problem - and even put rolls of barbed wire on train roofs - but nothing has worked. Officials say that if the latest initiative is successful, the project will be expanded.

I love this story. So how do you address a social problem, by maiming and killing the perpetrators. So not enough people died on the train roofs on their own so now officials will assist by knocking even more off with dangling concrete balls. Every considered buying more trains?

source

Man claims family dog strangled wife

2012-01-18T08:47:00.002-05:00

A German man suspected of strangling his wife has pointed the finger at the family dog instead, saying the Labrador could have smothered her to death by accident. The 50-year-old man was convicted of manslaughter after his wife was found strangled to death in their bathroom in Düsseldorf November 2010.

But his conviction was overruled by a federal court which said that the fact the woman was strangled for several minutes did not necessarily on its own mean she was killed intentionally, and now the case is being heard again – complete with a witness who is an expert on dogs. The man’s lawyer said he and his wife had been drinking heavily on the night she died – he had a blood alcohol level of 3.4 parts per thousand when police arrived at their house.

He said the woman had fallen over in the bathroom and her husband had been unable to lift her up. He had given her a pillow and blanket and gone to bed, to find her dead the following afternoon. Their 35-kilo dog must have smothered her, the lawyer argued, saying it was well-known that they sometimes kill their own puppies this way by accident.

The expert from the Labrador club in Velbert, said adults could not be put in danger by one of the dogs. He said newborns could be accidentally smothered by one of the animals if they snuggled up to them, but that adults could not.

Hey this is a variation on the Butler did it. They might have to introduce a new character/suspect in the board game Clue - Cedric the Labrador. If he wanted to pin it on the dog he should have had the dog's leash rapped around his wife's neck with the dog's paw prints all over it. That's how you frame the dog.

source

Internet Blackout Day

2012-01-18T08:40:00.003-05:00

The Great Wikipedia Blackout of 2012 has begun.

It's pretty wierd seeing Wikipedia down.

Boing Boing, Reddit, TwitPic, Mozilla, Mojang, and thousands of others will soon follow suit. The Internet is officially on strike! Why? Because the US Congress is conspiring with the entertainment industry to break the Internet.

Make no mistake: SOPA has not been shelved. And a vote on PIPA is just around the corner. Luckily, hundreds of companies, charities, and notable individuals with strong moral character have joined forces to stop these dangerous Big Brother bills from moving forward.

The fight is far from over, but hopefully today’s blackout will help bring this important matter to the attention of folks who rely on the Internet for entertainment and education, but have so far remained oblivious to SOPA and PIPA and their harmful consequences which will have impact beyond the US borders.

If you absolutely must scab, here are a few useful links:

Five ways to survive the Wikipedia Blackout.

Wikipedia Blackout: Survive with these 12 alternatives.

#altwiki: A collaborative crowd-sourcing alternative to Wikipedia.

How to access Wikipedia during the blackout.

Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-18T00:36:00.002-05:00

Natalie Portman

Hump day hottie

2012-01-18T00:27:00.003-05:00

Huntsman daughters

Which one are you?

2012-01-17T13:13:00.002-05:00

Timmies cup sizes just grew

2012-01-17T13:00:00.003-05:00

In a textbook example of a vicious coffee cup size war of attrition, Tim Hortons has resized all of its sizes upwards—its extra large will now hold 24 ounces four ounces more than Starbucks' extra large size, venti, pronto or whatever they call it? The new cup sizes match the American sizes. Except the Americans got rid of the 8 ounce-cup. Like what red blooded American would buy a drink so small?

Why didn't they just leave the sizes as they are and add an extra extra large just to reinforce what a glutton you must be do order a ridiculously large coffee. Wonder how long the extra small size will survive in Canada.

My favourite indie girl, Zoey Deschanel. is 32 today

2012-01-17T12:06:00.004-05:00

Airplane crew accidently activates recording that the plane is going down, panic prevails

2012-01-17T11:42:00.004-05:00

Passengers on board a British Airways flight from Miami to London got the fright of their lives when cabin crew mistakenly announced the plane was going down and they should brace themselves for an emergency water landing.

As panic began to spread among the passengers - with many fearing they were about to die - a flight attendant came on over the intercom to apologise, saying the message was played in error.

Duncan and Tracey Farquharson, from London, were on Saturday's flight and have accused the airline of trivializing passengers' concerns.

They told the Daily Telegraph that staff issued a 'blasé' apology and did not explain exactly what the error was until hours later, when they were landing at Heathrow.

Mr Farquharson, 58, an engineer, said: 'We were about three hours into the flight when an automated message came over the tannoy saying: "This is an emergency, we will shortly be making an emergency landing on water".

source

Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-17T00:01:00.001-05:00

Blake Lively

A possible explanation for the Broncos blowout loss to the Pats

2012-01-16T20:30:00.002-05:00

Sign of the day

2012-01-16T20:25:00.002-05:00

The perfect spot for a strip club billboard

Wow, Rob and Doug Ford weigh a combined 605 lbs

2012-01-16T20:15:00.002-05:00

Mayor Rob Ford and brother Doug launched their “Cut the Waist Challenge,” a charity fundraiser during which they’ll both attempt to shed pounds, publicly. At the initial weigh-in this morning, the mayor weighed in at 330 lbs, Doug Ford came in at 275 lbs.

They have also launched a website, cutthewaist.ca, to track their progress and allow the public to make charitable pledges. Except someone forgot to include firewalls to screen out idiots wanting to take shots are the Fords. The above screenshot is some of their handy work.

Middle East conflict shifts to cyber war fought by teen hackers

2012-01-16T19:42:00.003-05:00

The websites of Israel's stock exchange and national airline were hit by hack attacks today after weekend threats from the pro-Palestinian hacker 0xOmar. It's the latest volley in the escalating hacker-on-hacker pissing-match currently drenching the Middle East in leaked credit card information.

Today's attacks weren't very impressive; they briefly took down the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al Airlines, but didn't impact service in either cases. Still, they've captured headlines because of their place in the ongoing 'cyberwar' being waged between two groups of teen hackers on either side of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

This all started started in early January, when a hacker claiming to be a 19-year-old Saudi going by the name 0xOmar leaked about 15,000 Israeli credit cards and claimed to have a million more. Besides his burning hatred of Israel, he seemed like a pretty normal teenage geek in our chat with him, with a penchant for Xbox and web design.

In retaliation for 0xOmar's attack on Israel, an Israeli teen going by the confusingly-similar name 0xOmer leaked thousands of Saudi credit card details last week. He claims to be an Israel Defense Soldier working with a team of three others. 0XOmer's crew is now joined in battle against 0xOmar by an another pro-Israeli hacker named Hannibal, who just leaked the Facebook login info for 20,000 Arab users onto Pastebin. But 0xOmar says he's getting backup, too, from some Palestinian hackers named Team Nightmare, who may have been behind today's attacks.

Meanwhile, these teen nerds' squabbling has provoked Israel into basically threatening to assassinate 0XOmar, and Hamas is jumping on board, urging hackers to keep hitting Israel. This will no doubt spur lots of scary talk about cyberwar and cyberterrorism. But this is not war or terrorism; stealing and leaking personal info is large-scale cybercrime that happens pretty much every day. Today we learned hackers stole the personal information of 24 million Zappos customers. A shitty, illegal thing to do—but not a declaration of war on our nation's bargain lovers.

source

Golden Globe Highlight: Morgan Freeman as Dracula taking a bubble bath

2012-01-16T19:26:00.001-05:00

Man goes on rampage at Wendy's after they get his order wrong

2012-01-16T18:46:00.002-05:00

A man went on a rampage in a Wendy's burger store in Auckland, smashing tills and sending staff fleeing for safety on Friday.

David Junior Ilolahia, of Blockhouse Bay, is to appear in court charged with threatening behaviour, assaulting police, disorderly behaviour and resisting police, nzherald.co.nz reported.

Staff at the Lynfield store locked themselves in the office when Ilolahia smashed tills and threw furniture around after querying a "very large order" he was reportedly charged for on Friday. It took five police officers to subdue him.

Auckland police also reported a serious assault during a fight in Bates St in Papakura, in southern Auckland, about 1am on Saturday.

A 23-year-old male was stabbed with a broken bottle and was taken to hospital with injuries which were not life threatening.

There is a lesson to be learned here - never get in the way of a man and his fast food meal. It took a can of pepper spray, batons to the head and 5 cops to take this guy down. In the interim he trashed a Wendy's and roughed up customers and staff. Next time don't hand a customer a Big Classic when they want a Baconator with no bacon. Wait a second. Who the hell orders a Baconator with no bacon. Isn't that the point of a Baconator. No wonder the staff were confused. A Baconator with no bacon is a Big Classic. Never mind.

source

Woman auctioning off her butt for a tattoo

2012-01-16T08:47:00.002-05:00

Tina Beznec, from New Zealand, is auctioning space on her backside to be tattooed with a design of the winning bidders choice in an online auction.

The listing has become a viral hit, attracting more than 170,000 hits and bids of more than $8,600 - Ms Beznec plans to give 20 percent of the proceeds to charity.

She says the winning bidder will win the right to have whatever they like tattooed on the 9x9cm patch of skin, adding: "I'm just trusting the winner of the auction will not do anything too stupid."

"I think it's amazing that, you know, it's gone global. Gone viral over the internet. Several different countries have tried making contact with me. Everyone's talking about it. It's quite a big topic. So, yeah, it's awesome," said Tina. So far, design proposals include brands and promotions, "property of..." tags and self-portraits.

Wetter than an otter's pocket?

2012-01-16T08:40:00.002-05:00

This British weather reporter recently used an expression but had no clue what it meant. But if you check on Urban Dictionary it means a sexually aroused woman. Oops.

Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-16T07:55:00.003-05:00

Kim Kardashian

The doctor who claimed red wine was good for you was lying

2012-01-15T23:44:00.004-05:00

You can't trust anyone these days. I had relied on the reported science regarding the healthy benefits of drinking red wine and spent a fortune stocking up my cellar with red wine. I learned to enjoy a nice glass of wine with a meal. Give a glass of zinfandel, cabernet, roja, meritage or malbec. Now I find out that the doctor who say red wine is a way to slow aging was a big fat liar.

Dr. Dipak Das from the University of Connecticut, who released many studies focused on the positive effects of red wine on the aging process, was found to have committed more than 100 acts of "data fabrication and falsification," according to a university investigation. In other words, he lied, and now his research is being called into question, and all of us drunks are going to die miserable, alone, and young.

Well I'm giving up my red wine and you can fuck yourself Dr. Das.

María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten (aka Charo) is 61 today

2012-01-15T17:03:00.002-05:00

... I just like her name, all 12 of them.

It's getting tough to be a woman in Israel

2012-01-15T16:17:00.005-05:00

Israel is a liberal democracy where for years women have been fully integrated into society including the Israeli Defense Force. This does not sit well with the growing ranks of the country's ultra-Orthodox. They are a small minority in the country but their high birth rates and large families is creating a demographic time bomb.

A number of recent incidents indicates that the ultra-Orthodox have been flexing their muscle with regards to the women's lack of modesty and prominence in Israeli society. The incident that has become a lightning rod for feminists is the story around Naama Margolese, an 8-year old student from Beit Shemesh. She was recently walking to school when she was bullied and spat on by a bunch of religious extremists in her neighbourhood because they were unhappy with the way she was dressed. Her family are secular Jews but modern Orthodox, though not ultra-Orthodox which appears to be a source of friction. Students say they are physically accosted and jeered at by dozens of men in black hats almost every day.

But there have been other ungly incidents including:

Organizers of a recent conference on women's health and Jewish law barred women from speaking from the podium, leading at least eight speakers to cancel.
Professor Channa Maayan was to receive a book award. She knew that religious people would be in attendance so she wore a long-sleeve top and a long skirt. But that was hardly enough. Dr. Maayan and her husband had to sit separately and she was instructed that a male colleague would have to accept the award for her because women were not permitted on stage.
The chief rabbi of the air force resigned his post because the army declined to excuse ultra-Orthodox soldiers from attending events where female singers perform.
Protesters depicted the Jerusalem police commander as Hitler on posters because he instructed public bus lines with mixed-sex seating to drive through ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.

What's ironic is that the ultra-Orthodox do not even recognize the state of Israel. They refuse military service and decline to work, all while having six to eight children per family. Yet they accept or better yet demand government subsidies or welfare so that they can study Torah while supporting their large families. In fact they have a significant political influence because Israel has never had a majority government so religious political parties trade off support for parties on the left and right in exchange for subsidies. This is very unsettling for many Israelis.

Tebow Time?

2012-01-15T11:04:00.002-05:00

...there is always next year.

Carnvial Cruises: How Can Fun Be More Fun?

2012-01-15T10:47:00.003-05:00

Sign of the day

2012-01-15T08:04:00.001-05:00

Beautiful celebrities with no make up week

2012-01-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

Cameron Diaz

In Brazil, checking your email after hours may be overtime

2012-01-14T23:56:00.002-05:00

Brazilian workers who find themselves answering work emails on their smartphones after the end of their shifts can qualify for overtime under a new law.

The new legislation was approved by President Dilma Rousseff last month.

It says that company emails to workers are equivalent to orders given directly to the employee. Labor attorneys told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper this makes it possible for workers answering emails after hours to ask for overtime pay.

This issue has come up in the United States as well. In May, Chicago policeman Jeffrey Allen filed a class action suit against the city, asking for unpaid overtime compensation.

source

Those were the days

2012-01-14T18:02:00.000-05:00

Best ad imaginable for Mcdonalds

2012-01-14T17:58:00.002-05:00

Oops, paramedics drop heart en route to emergency transplant

2012-01-14T06:36:00.002-05:00

Bungling medics are at the centre of a media storm in Mexico after they dropped a human heart being rushed to a transplant patient by police helicopter.

With the nation's media following every step of the dramatic journey to the capital's hospital, efforts to get the organ to its destination in time for a life-saving operation almost came unstuck just metres from its destination. Two medics dashing off the helicopter tipped the cooler containing the heart over onto the pavement.

Scooping it off the ground with their bare hands, the men placed the organ back in its icy storage leaving a bag of saline on the ground behind them as they rushed towards the operating room. Despite the mishap the doctor in charge of the operation was not too concerned.

He told reporters: "It was a trip on one of the potholes on the road. It's arrival was a bit scary but fortunately it all went well. Because we had the heart perfectly protected as it was packed in three layers." According to Mexico City daily Reforma, the operation was a success and the patient is responding well to the new heart.

I want this ferret that plays dead

2012-01-14T06:32:00.000-05:00

Dysfunctional snowmen week

2012-01-14T00:46:00.003-05:00

Olivia Munn is the latest naked celebrity to appear in a PETA ad

2012-01-13T19:41:00.004-05:00

What better way to get the public's attention. It works for Playboy.