The expression, "send it by snail-mail" has taken on a whole new meaning for Muriel, Austin and Cecil. In fact people using their mail delivery service just might have to wait for their package or mail to take weeks, maybe even months to arrive.
What makes this delivery service unique is that the trio are...snails. As in the gastropods that live in back yards. As in the real live thing(s).
These snails have been fitted with equipment to allow them to send e-mails on behalf of visitors to a website and it's all part of a "slow art" project called Real Snail Mail at Bournemouth University in the UK which will be showcased in Los Angeles in August.
Each snail is fitted with a tiny capsule which holds a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. RFID allows objects to communicate over short distances.
Users of the service send a message via the Real Snail Mail website which is routed to the tank at the speed of light to await collection by a snail "agent".
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458531.stm
BTW - to date the snails have managed to deliver 14 messages.
There's also a web site devoted to the system and perhaps the site coordinates says it all:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/
The Web site also provides background profiles for the trio:
Agent 001
Also known as Cecil
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 4
Current status: Carrying message
Average delivery time: 3.26 days
Agent 002
Also known as Austin
Hours of service: 2493
Deliveries made: 10
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: 1.96 days
Agent 003
Also known as Muriel
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 0
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: None as yet
Interesting that Agent 003 - Muriel - hasn't made any deliveries yet... Too slow...too shy... One can only speculate.
A snail-cam will be available during the trio's visit to Los Angeles while participating in the Slow Art Exhibition from August 11-15 here:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/snailcam.html
Don't expect any quick deliveries, though.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
New Canadian law passed for illegal downloading of copyright material
Chances are that anybody working in the creative field will be happy with the news that Canada has passed a law to deal with downloading copyright material, the problem is how do the police and the legal field enforce said law?
"New legislation against downloading copyrighted material comes with one big problem. Nobody knows how fines could be doled out because nobody knows how violators could be caught, York Regional Police said yesterday. The current copyright law carries a maximum fine of $20,000 but has been geared towards nabbing commercial distributors and high-volume bootleggers."
http://money.canoe.ca/News/Economy/2008/06/13/5867376-sun.html
"The federal government has introduced a controversial bill it says balances the rights of copyright holders and consumers — but it opens millions of Canadians to huge lawsuits, prompting critics to warn it will create a "police state."
"We are confident we have developed the proper framework at this point in time," Minister of Industry Jim Prentice told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. "This bill reflects a win-win approach."
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/tech-copyright.html
At present anyone caught disobeying the copyright law, which is focused on dealing with commercial distributors and bootleggers, can be fined $20,000. The new legislation will focus on
deterring individual downloaders and purchasers of scammed content.
When it's all said and done, however, the main question or issue is: how do you catch individual downloaders?
"New legislation against downloading copyrighted material comes with one big problem. Nobody knows how fines could be doled out because nobody knows how violators could be caught, York Regional Police said yesterday. The current copyright law carries a maximum fine of $20,000 but has been geared towards nabbing commercial distributors and high-volume bootleggers."
http://money.canoe.ca/News/Economy/2008/06/13/5867376-sun.html
"The federal government has introduced a controversial bill it says balances the rights of copyright holders and consumers — but it opens millions of Canadians to huge lawsuits, prompting critics to warn it will create a "police state."
"We are confident we have developed the proper framework at this point in time," Minister of Industry Jim Prentice told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. "This bill reflects a win-win approach."
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/tech-copyright.html
At present anyone caught disobeying the copyright law, which is focused on dealing with commercial distributors and bootleggers, can be fined $20,000. The new legislation will focus on
deterring individual downloaders and purchasers of scammed content.
When it's all said and done, however, the main question or issue is: how do you catch individual downloaders?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
No cheering allowed at high school graduation
Talk about over-zealousness on the part of high school officials and perhaps even on the part of the police.
So a group of enthusiastic young people made it through high school and were part of graduation ceremonies. Perhaps they got caught up in the moment and cheered when their friends received their diploma. That's a natural thing to do - support your friends. Right? Since when is it a crime, anyway, to cheer out loud? Obviously in some places it is.
I mean - gimme a break!
"When Rock Hill school officials tell commencement crowds to hold their applause until the end, they mean it — police arrested seven people after they were accused of loud cheering during the ceremonies.
Six people at Fort Mill High School's graduation were charged Saturday and a seventh at the graduation for York Comprehensive High School was charged Friday with disorderly conduct, authorities said. Police said the seven yelled after students' names were called."
Read the entire story and shake your head in wonder and puzzlement as I did wondering what this world is coming to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25083792/
With the exception of one case that includes resisting an arrest charge, all the cases will be handled in city court with the punishment(!) being a maximum of 30 days in jail(!) and a $1,000 fine.
So a group of enthusiastic young people made it through high school and were part of graduation ceremonies. Perhaps they got caught up in the moment and cheered when their friends received their diploma. That's a natural thing to do - support your friends. Right? Since when is it a crime, anyway, to cheer out loud? Obviously in some places it is.
I mean - gimme a break!
"When Rock Hill school officials tell commencement crowds to hold their applause until the end, they mean it — police arrested seven people after they were accused of loud cheering during the ceremonies.
Six people at Fort Mill High School's graduation were charged Saturday and a seventh at the graduation for York Comprehensive High School was charged Friday with disorderly conduct, authorities said. Police said the seven yelled after students' names were called."
Read the entire story and shake your head in wonder and puzzlement as I did wondering what this world is coming to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25083792/
With the exception of one case that includes resisting an arrest charge, all the cases will be handled in city court with the punishment(!) being a maximum of 30 days in jail(!) and a $1,000 fine.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Here a rabbit...there a groundhog - garden pests dealt with severely by gardeners
Gardeners as a rule are a protective lot, especially when it comes to the fruit of their labor so to speak. There are some who sow crops of carrots, lettuce, cukes, tomatoes etc. in their backyard suburban garden, anticipating a fresh salad al fresco. However, not only do humans enjoy freshly picked veggies - so do all the local wildlife and therein lies the problem. It's a case of the humans versus the wildlife with a not-so-happy end result in some cases.
Take the article in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/garden/05animals.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
with some gardeners finding a solution by taking things into their own hands. There are those who take more drastic measures using guns and other weapons to solve the problem. Here is the opening of the story:
THE homeowner, a city-boy artist and illustrator who had moved to rural Pennsylvania, never wanted to kill the woodchucks. Sure, they were ruining the garden and digging up the foundations of outbuildings, but it was a moral issue: the artist, who is still so uncomfortable about what transpired — and so concerned about how his New York clients would feel about it that he is not willing to be identified — did not want to take a life.
"I posted a sign in the backyard (positioned close to ground level) with a recipe for rabbit pie. I think the bunnies got the message."CE, Plano, TX
Given the size of the property — a 12-acre former horse farm — fencing was out of the question. He bought a Havahart live animal trap but did not catch a thing. And he worried that releasing woodchucks down the road would only be dumping the problem on a neighbor. So he moved on to that tried-and-true landlord’s tactic: harassment. He attached a hose to the exhaust pipe of his old pickup truck and stuffed it into a burrow — not to kill the woodchucks, just to encourage them to move on. That didn’t work, either.
Finally, the artist decided he would have to shoot the animals. First, though, he went to each hole and made an announcement.
“I said: ‘I intend to kill you. You have 24 hours to get out,’ ” he recalls. “I wanted to give them fair warning. I said, ‘If I were you, I would find another place to live.’ I also promised them I would not take a shot unless I knew it would be fatal.”
He is making this into a funny story, he says, but when he killed his first woodchuck he “literally felt sick.”
“I went outside and knelt down to it and said a little prayer to whatever the powers that be that when my turn comes, I will do it as gracefully and uncomplainingly.”
Eventually, though, he embraced his mission, and grew so obsessed with it that an aunt began to call him Woodchuck Johnny. How many did he kill that summer?
“I stopped at 19,” he says. “One was a suicide. It realized its days were numbered and ran in front of a car.”
There are a lot more stories about how plain ordinary, "normal" gardeners like you or me, handled the situation. As an aside 325 gardeners , some who agree with garden guerilla tactics and many others shocked, who let their feelings be known with e-letters to the editor of the New York Times.
Read the entire story and decide for yourself.
Take the article in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/garden/05animals.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
with some gardeners finding a solution by taking things into their own hands. There are those who take more drastic measures using guns and other weapons to solve the problem. Here is the opening of the story:
THE homeowner, a city-boy artist and illustrator who had moved to rural Pennsylvania, never wanted to kill the woodchucks. Sure, they were ruining the garden and digging up the foundations of outbuildings, but it was a moral issue: the artist, who is still so uncomfortable about what transpired — and so concerned about how his New York clients would feel about it that he is not willing to be identified — did not want to take a life.
"I posted a sign in the backyard (positioned close to ground level) with a recipe for rabbit pie. I think the bunnies got the message."CE, Plano, TX
Given the size of the property — a 12-acre former horse farm — fencing was out of the question. He bought a Havahart live animal trap but did not catch a thing. And he worried that releasing woodchucks down the road would only be dumping the problem on a neighbor. So he moved on to that tried-and-true landlord’s tactic: harassment. He attached a hose to the exhaust pipe of his old pickup truck and stuffed it into a burrow — not to kill the woodchucks, just to encourage them to move on. That didn’t work, either.
Finally, the artist decided he would have to shoot the animals. First, though, he went to each hole and made an announcement.
“I said: ‘I intend to kill you. You have 24 hours to get out,’ ” he recalls. “I wanted to give them fair warning. I said, ‘If I were you, I would find another place to live.’ I also promised them I would not take a shot unless I knew it would be fatal.”
He is making this into a funny story, he says, but when he killed his first woodchuck he “literally felt sick.”
“I went outside and knelt down to it and said a little prayer to whatever the powers that be that when my turn comes, I will do it as gracefully and uncomplainingly.”
Eventually, though, he embraced his mission, and grew so obsessed with it that an aunt began to call him Woodchuck Johnny. How many did he kill that summer?
“I stopped at 19,” he says. “One was a suicide. It realized its days were numbered and ran in front of a car.”
There are a lot more stories about how plain ordinary, "normal" gardeners like you or me, handled the situation. As an aside 325 gardeners , some who agree with garden guerilla tactics and many others shocked, who let their feelings be known with e-letters to the editor of the New York Times.
Read the entire story and decide for yourself.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Attorney fights to be slow
There are people who are actively involved in many causes to help humanity and there are others who run around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. Then there's 73-year old attorney, Edgar S. Cahn, who is making a point of people's right to be lazy.
My kind of person.
He is head of the "slow movement", a national campaign that believes that speed kills.
The slow movement backs random acts of slowness, such as turning off the BlackBerry or spending time with friends.
Its leaders say that Americans are so starved for time and that the need for speed is destroying health, families and communities.
Read the whole story here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/06/06/balance.slow.movement/index.html
There are groups people can join including:
• The Long Now Foundation, a group based in San Francisco, California, was established to provide an alternative to a "faster/cheaper" mind set and promote "slower/better" thinking.
• Take Back Your Time, a nonprofit group based in Seattle, Washington, is leading a national campaign to address time famine by using conferences and teach-ins to wean people off of their need by be busy.
• Slow Food USA is a nonprofit group that offers an alternative to fast-food eating and industrial food production. It encourages members to plan communal meals and use farmer's markets. It has at least 80,000 members in 100 countries.
Slow movement members don't fit one profile. They're journalists, lawyers, chefs, farmers. Yet they cite the same factors for our inability to slow down: longer work hours, longer commutes and technological advances like BlackBerrys that keep many employees chained to work.
Perhaps this is a movement whose time has come.
My kind of person.
He is head of the "slow movement", a national campaign that believes that speed kills.
The slow movement backs random acts of slowness, such as turning off the BlackBerry or spending time with friends.
Its leaders say that Americans are so starved for time and that the need for speed is destroying health, families and communities.
Read the whole story here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/06/06/balance.slow.movement/index.html
There are groups people can join including:
• The Long Now Foundation, a group based in San Francisco, California, was established to provide an alternative to a "faster/cheaper" mind set and promote "slower/better" thinking.
• Take Back Your Time, a nonprofit group based in Seattle, Washington, is leading a national campaign to address time famine by using conferences and teach-ins to wean people off of their need by be busy.
• Slow Food USA is a nonprofit group that offers an alternative to fast-food eating and industrial food production. It encourages members to plan communal meals and use farmer's markets. It has at least 80,000 members in 100 countries.
Slow movement members don't fit one profile. They're journalists, lawyers, chefs, farmers. Yet they cite the same factors for our inability to slow down: longer work hours, longer commutes and technological advances like BlackBerrys that keep many employees chained to work.
Perhaps this is a movement whose time has come.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
You think you have problems department: no flush in space
International Space Station astronauts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of shuttle Discovery since it'sbringing a new pump to mend their broken toilet.
I bet they are! Can you imagine no flushing mechanism in space?
The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days. NASA said it thought a separator pump was at fault and the three male crew members were operating it manually.
To make room for the new part, NASA has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
The Discovery mission is the second of three to take up key components of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm
It goes without saying that a working toilet is an absolute necessity, given the gravity situation. One wonders what and how they are disposing of the urine. One shudders to think...
Thought du jour: if a person flushes in space, does anyone hear it?
I bet they are! Can you imagine no flushing mechanism in space?
The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days. NASA said it thought a separator pump was at fault and the three male crew members were operating it manually.
To make room for the new part, NASA has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
The Discovery mission is the second of three to take up key components of the Japanese-built Kibo laboratory.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7425180.stm
It goes without saying that a working toilet is an absolute necessity, given the gravity situation. One wonders what and how they are disposing of the urine. One shudders to think...
Thought du jour: if a person flushes in space, does anyone hear it?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Gloucester cheese chase was downhill all the way
They came, they ran and when it was all over, the biggest cheese chaser (say that fast a dozen times) was 19-year old, Christopher Anderson. He took first place - and a back brace for his efforts - in the annual Bank Holiday Cheese Rolling Contest at Cooper's Hill. One might ask the reason for people chasing after a circle of giant Gloucester. Go know but the prize being a big chunk of cheese certainly must be some inspiration.
The challenge was even greater given the weather conditions being less than satisfactory with a torrential rain pelting down. Approximately 3000 specatators cheered on the cheese chasers with contestants coming as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Japan attempting to climb Coopers Hill and then sliding down after their fromage.
Photos of the contestants in action here: http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/the_event.htm
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
The challenge was even greater given the weather conditions being less than satisfactory with a torrential rain pelting down. Approximately 3000 specatators cheered on the cheese chasers with contestants coming as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Japan attempting to climb Coopers Hill and then sliding down after their fromage.
Photos of the contestants in action here: http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/the_event.htm
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Monday, May 26, 2008
There's gold in them thar California hills...again
Price of gas got you bloated? Running a little short of cash? You might consider visiting or even moving to California where there's a new Gold Rush, 160 years after gold fever struck.
It hit a new high of in excess of US$1000 per ounce earlier in the year and some believe there is money to be made from this precious mineral once more.
"You can pay your bills, if you live meagrely," says John Gurney, who gave up his job six months ago to become a full-time gold prospector.
John is standing in a shallow river in Jamestown, California, in the heart of Gold Country: in 1849, the same dream brought hundreds of thousands of people to towns like this.
He is panning for gold: he shovels rocks and dirt from the river bed into a bucket, sifts out the bigger pieces, transfers what's left into a ridged plastic panning bowl, and then, using a light movement back and forth, shakes the bowl, separating the lighter material from the heavier, including gold.
Each 20-minute session usually turns up a few tiny flecks.
"It's not a lot of money," John says, "but it adds up quite a bit... But you never know - you may hit the jackpot sometime."
This is the simplest way of gold prospecting.
The original 49ers - as they've become known - used this technique, as well as mining. Fortunes were made - and lost - in the wild towns that sprang up almost overnight along 200 miles of central California, an area they called the Motherlode.
Tourism is big business in the former gold-mining areas. Places like Jamestown and Columbia - which, in its heyday, nearly became California's state capital - have been mining tourists ever since. But now these ghost towns are stirring again, as more and more amateur prospectors try their luck.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378281.stm
Given the precarious financial situation with people losing homes and no income, perhaps gold fever will strike again.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
It hit a new high of in excess of US$1000 per ounce earlier in the year and some believe there is money to be made from this precious mineral once more.
"You can pay your bills, if you live meagrely," says John Gurney, who gave up his job six months ago to become a full-time gold prospector.
John is standing in a shallow river in Jamestown, California, in the heart of Gold Country: in 1849, the same dream brought hundreds of thousands of people to towns like this.
He is panning for gold: he shovels rocks and dirt from the river bed into a bucket, sifts out the bigger pieces, transfers what's left into a ridged plastic panning bowl, and then, using a light movement back and forth, shakes the bowl, separating the lighter material from the heavier, including gold.
Each 20-minute session usually turns up a few tiny flecks.
"It's not a lot of money," John says, "but it adds up quite a bit... But you never know - you may hit the jackpot sometime."
This is the simplest way of gold prospecting.
The original 49ers - as they've become known - used this technique, as well as mining. Fortunes were made - and lost - in the wild towns that sprang up almost overnight along 200 miles of central California, an area they called the Motherlode.
Tourism is big business in the former gold-mining areas. Places like Jamestown and Columbia - which, in its heyday, nearly became California's state capital - have been mining tourists ever since. But now these ghost towns are stirring again, as more and more amateur prospectors try their luck.
Read the full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7378281.stm
Given the precarious financial situation with people losing homes and no income, perhaps gold fever will strike again.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Something definitely cheesy afoot
Cheese lovers rejoice! The annual Cheese Race to take place in Gloucestershire, will go on rain or no rain.
Well that's good news. I mean, nothing should stop people from taking a perfectly good and tasty chunk of Gloucestershire cheese and rolling it down a hill. Why? Go know! However, the event must have something going for it since it's more than 200 years old.
The event is more than a little cheesy if you ask me but here are the details so you can plan to attend.
Organisers of the annual cheese- rolling event in Gloucestershire have insisted that it will go ahead on Monday whatever the weather. In the event participants chase a 7lb Double Gloucester cheese in four races at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth. BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson said: "The steep slope at Cooper's Hill, which is challenging even in good weather, will prove especially slippery and muddy."
In 2007, several people were injured during the event. Safety concerns led to it being called off in 2006 after rescue volunteers were unable to assist as they had been called to help with the aftermath of an earthquake. The race has been held at Cooper's Hill for the last 200 years and is believed to date back to Roman times. The winner of each race gets to keep the Double Gloucester.
Anyone can enter if one feels so inclined and according to the official site, the rules are simple:
"You do not need any type of application form to enterThere are no qualifications and no entry fee! All you have to do is arrive at the top of the hill, make the decision (possibly check that your 'Last will and testament ' is up-to-date!) make sure that you won't need that pair of jeans ever again and ......... GO!!!!"
That's good news - no fee, mind you who would pay to enter is another whole issue, here.
Rumor - and keep it mind it's strictly a rumor here - has it that some owners of local cafes have been seen under the cover of night, collecting the cheese remnants and using it for the next daily special being macaroni and cheese.
Here's the official site for the contest: http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Well that's good news. I mean, nothing should stop people from taking a perfectly good and tasty chunk of Gloucestershire cheese and rolling it down a hill. Why? Go know! However, the event must have something going for it since it's more than 200 years old.
The event is more than a little cheesy if you ask me but here are the details so you can plan to attend.
Organisers of the annual cheese- rolling event in Gloucestershire have insisted that it will go ahead on Monday whatever the weather. In the event participants chase a 7lb Double Gloucester cheese in four races at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth. BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson said: "The steep slope at Cooper's Hill, which is challenging even in good weather, will prove especially slippery and muddy."
In 2007, several people were injured during the event. Safety concerns led to it being called off in 2006 after rescue volunteers were unable to assist as they had been called to help with the aftermath of an earthquake. The race has been held at Cooper's Hill for the last 200 years and is believed to date back to Roman times. The winner of each race gets to keep the Double Gloucester.
Anyone can enter if one feels so inclined and according to the official site, the rules are simple:
"You do not need any type of application form to enterThere are no qualifications and no entry fee! All you have to do is arrive at the top of the hill, make the decision (possibly check that your 'Last will and testament ' is up-to-date!) make sure that you won't need that pair of jeans ever again and ......... GO!!!!"
That's good news - no fee, mind you who would pay to enter is another whole issue, here.
Rumor - and keep it mind it's strictly a rumor here - has it that some owners of local cafes have been seen under the cover of night, collecting the cheese remnants and using it for the next daily special being macaroni and cheese.
Here's the official site for the contest: http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Shocking news - truffles in danger!
by Eleanor Tylbor
Directly from France (where else!) where things like this are tres important comes the devastating and shocking news that - wait for it - truffles are in danger of being wiped out!
Mon Dieu! Pas possible!
But yes it's true! So if you're a truffle lover...or liker...or even someone who occasionally indulges in a few truffles, you might be out of luck. Just to clarify we're not talking about the chocolate type with a gazillion calories. It's the kind that only piggies can find in certain geographical locations.
Mais oui!
Narrowing it down further, the Perigort Black Truffle to be exact and the cause is an alien interloping Chinese truffle.
Uh-oh...! Call in the gendarmes or french borner patrol!
Scientists fear it will be wiped out by an invading Chinese truffle they have discovered growing in European soils. Hmmmm... I smell if you'll excuse the pun, a plot afoot - or a-nose. Perhaps yet another means in which to introduce cheaper truffles and spoil the truffle market.
According to people who know about these things who then informed New Phytologist journal, the incomer is a particularly aggressive and fast-growing species.The Perigord black truffle is one of the most highly regarded truffles, fetching around 600 to 800 Euros per kg this season.
"It is the most famous and appreciated among the black truffles, and is the most important truffle in French cuisine," says Claude Murat, a fungus expert based at the University of Torino, Italy.
Somehow, when somebody uses the term "fungus" even though it is referring to a gourmet item, my mind switches to less savory images. Toe nails for example but I digress.
Only Piedmont white truffles fetch higher prices. Hey - we all knew that! Right?
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7405004.stm
So...like...how upset are you regarding this...this shocking news???? More to the point, would you know the difference between one truffle and another?
Perhaps it would be a good idea the next time you're dining out at a fast food restaurant and truffles are on the menu, you might want to think twice. I mean, one just never knows, does one?
Directly from France (where else!) where things like this are tres important comes the devastating and shocking news that - wait for it - truffles are in danger of being wiped out!
Mon Dieu! Pas possible!
But yes it's true! So if you're a truffle lover...or liker...or even someone who occasionally indulges in a few truffles, you might be out of luck. Just to clarify we're not talking about the chocolate type with a gazillion calories. It's the kind that only piggies can find in certain geographical locations.
Mais oui!
Narrowing it down further, the Perigort Black Truffle to be exact and the cause is an alien interloping Chinese truffle.
Uh-oh...! Call in the gendarmes or french borner patrol!
Scientists fear it will be wiped out by an invading Chinese truffle they have discovered growing in European soils. Hmmmm... I smell if you'll excuse the pun, a plot afoot - or a-nose. Perhaps yet another means in which to introduce cheaper truffles and spoil the truffle market.
According to people who know about these things who then informed New Phytologist journal, the incomer is a particularly aggressive and fast-growing species.The Perigord black truffle is one of the most highly regarded truffles, fetching around 600 to 800 Euros per kg this season.
"It is the most famous and appreciated among the black truffles, and is the most important truffle in French cuisine," says Claude Murat, a fungus expert based at the University of Torino, Italy.
Somehow, when somebody uses the term "fungus" even though it is referring to a gourmet item, my mind switches to less savory images. Toe nails for example but I digress.
Only Piedmont white truffles fetch higher prices. Hey - we all knew that! Right?
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7405004.stm
So...like...how upset are you regarding this...this shocking news???? More to the point, would you know the difference between one truffle and another?
Perhaps it would be a good idea the next time you're dining out at a fast food restaurant and truffles are on the menu, you might want to think twice. I mean, one just never knows, does one?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Sometimes it's the hiccups in life that get you
Most people at some point in their life acquire a case of hiccups. Although personally aggravating to the hiccup-er and somewhat unnerving to onlookers, most cases of hiccups disappear within minutes. Then there are unusual cases where a case of hiccups can linger for longer. A lot longer.
Take the case of musician, Brian Sands, 24, who has had a severe case of the ailment for 15 months and is hoping that an operation will cure him. He hiccups as often as every 2 seconds and in his sleep on occasion.
Nothing has worked so far in the way of a cure including hypnosis and yoga, and physicians at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre will place a tube into his stomach to monitor acid levels and decide if surgery is feasible.
To make matters worse - or crucial - Sands is a backup singer in the group, Ebullient and the condition is not conducive to his chosen field. In fact he has only been able to perform 4 times.
Sands thinks his problem stems from an acid reflux condition caused by a damaged valve in his stomach.
"If the acid levels are severe enough they are going to do keyhole surgery and grab part of my stomach and wrap it around the valve to tighten it," he said.
When you've had them this long it really drains you, because you can't eat properly and can't sleep properly."
It's always the hiccups of life that'll get you every time, so read about Mr. Sands angst here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/7387224.stm
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Take the case of musician, Brian Sands, 24, who has had a severe case of the ailment for 15 months and is hoping that an operation will cure him. He hiccups as often as every 2 seconds and in his sleep on occasion.
Nothing has worked so far in the way of a cure including hypnosis and yoga, and physicians at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre will place a tube into his stomach to monitor acid levels and decide if surgery is feasible.
To make matters worse - or crucial - Sands is a backup singer in the group, Ebullient and the condition is not conducive to his chosen field. In fact he has only been able to perform 4 times.
Sands thinks his problem stems from an acid reflux condition caused by a damaged valve in his stomach.
"If the acid levels are severe enough they are going to do keyhole surgery and grab part of my stomach and wrap it around the valve to tighten it," he said.
When you've had them this long it really drains you, because you can't eat properly and can't sleep properly."
It's always the hiccups of life that'll get you every time, so read about Mr. Sands angst here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/7387224.stm
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Les baguettes from UK...Lego tower sets record...
Now for something completely different: a Yorkshire (UK) baker is supplying baguettes to discriminating French caterers and restaurants. This comes as quite a surprise to any visitor to France - including moi - who is under the impression that when it comes to crispy baguettes - France has it in the basket, so to speak. However...what you sees isn't necessarily what you gets.
France may be famed for its fabulous bread but a British baker has secured a surprising contract - to ship thousands of loaves across the channel.
The baker, Fosters, will be sending bread to les francaise to make croque monsieur, a hot ham and cheese snack.
It is not the first request from France for the baking firm, based in the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley.
"I nearly fell off my chair laughing," said director John Foster. "Asking a Brit to make French sticks?"
They will ship some 7,000 soft white loaves for use in toasted sandwiches to France every few months.
Read the whole story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7386183.stm
Fosters Bakery - the suppliers also have a site here:
http://www.bake-it.com/
***********************************************************************************
Lego in as far as children and probably their parents given the popularity of the blocks are concerned, is the ideal toy to stimulate the imagination. A 100ft tower made out of Lego bricks will be verified as an official world record, organisers hope.
Thousands of children and their families used almost 500,000 bricks to build the structure at the Legoland theme park in Windsor, Berkshire. The tower is designed to resemble a Viking longboat mast to mark the opening of the new Land of the Vikings. It is yet to officially verified, but the next biggest Lego tower is just over 96ft built in Toronto last August.
The Viking mast tower was created over the Bank Holiday weekend with each of the top sections lifted into place with a crane.
Lego has recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the iconic brick
Rest of the story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7386537.stm
France may be famed for its fabulous bread but a British baker has secured a surprising contract - to ship thousands of loaves across the channel.
The baker, Fosters, will be sending bread to les francaise to make croque monsieur, a hot ham and cheese snack.
It is not the first request from France for the baking firm, based in the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley.
"I nearly fell off my chair laughing," said director John Foster. "Asking a Brit to make French sticks?"
They will ship some 7,000 soft white loaves for use in toasted sandwiches to France every few months.
Read the whole story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7386183.stm
Fosters Bakery - the suppliers also have a site here:
http://www.bake-it.com/
***********************************************************************************
Lego in as far as children and probably their parents given the popularity of the blocks are concerned, is the ideal toy to stimulate the imagination. A 100ft tower made out of Lego bricks will be verified as an official world record, organisers hope.
Thousands of children and their families used almost 500,000 bricks to build the structure at the Legoland theme park in Windsor, Berkshire. The tower is designed to resemble a Viking longboat mast to mark the opening of the new Land of the Vikings. It is yet to officially verified, but the next biggest Lego tower is just over 96ft built in Toronto last August.
The Viking mast tower was created over the Bank Holiday weekend with each of the top sections lifted into place with a crane.
Lego has recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the iconic brick
Rest of the story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/7386537.stm
Monday, May 05, 2008
In God We Trust. How Do You Spell That?
by Eleanor Tylbor
Perhaps he means well but somehow changing one's name to "In God We Trust" is bound to have interesting or at least humorous results. If the court allows him to do this.
Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as "In God We Trust." Kreuscher says the new name would symbolize the help God gave him through tough times. The 57-year-old man also says he's worried that atheists may succeed in removing the phrase "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency. He recalls that the phrase "God Reigns" was removed from the Zion city seal in 1992 after Illinois courts deemed it unconstitutional. Zion was founded as a theocracy - by a sect that believed the Earth was flat. The school bus driver and amateur artist in the northern Chicago suburb says he has filed a petition to change his name in Lake County Circuit Court.
************************************************************************************
Steve Kreuscher wants a judge to allow him to legally change his name. He wants to be known as "In God We Trust." Kreuscher says the new name would symbolize the help God gave him through tough times. The 57-year-old man also says he's worried that atheists may succeed in removing the phrase "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency. He recalls that the phrase "God Reigns" was removed from the Zion city seal in 1992 after Illinois courts deemed it unconstitutional. Zion was founded as a theocracy - by a sect that believed the Earth was flat. The school bus driver and amateur artist in the northern Chicago suburb says he has filed a petition to change his name in Lake County Circuit Court.
************************************************************************************
So let's say... this man or another man is allowed to change his name to In God We Trust.
Let's say... it's time for him to sign his signature.
MAN IN GOD WE TRUST
(paying for food at restaurant)
Do you take major credit cards?
WAITER
Of course, sir
IGWT
Okay...here. Take this one(waiter walks away examining credit card. Returns a few minutes later)
WAITER
Um... Sir... We seem to have a problem here
IGWT
Oh? Did I put the wrong amount or something?
WAITER
That's fine. Um... It's about your signature?
IGWT
What about it?
WAITER
You signed the motto written on a coin. I'm sure it was a mistake
IGWT
Not!
WAITER
We require a real name, sir.
IGWT
In God We Trust!
WAITER
I'm sure you do - we all do, sir. However, we need a real name
IGWT
That is my real name
(Manager joins him)
MANAGER
Is there a problem here?
IGWT
Your waiter won't accept my credit card!
MANAGER
That's right. I told him not to! Sir - we need a name. A real name! Not a political statement or something... In God We Trust cannot in any way be considered a name. So if you'll just show us some other piece of identification...
IGWT
All my identification has In God We Trust. Do you believe in God?
MANAGER
What's that have to do with anything?
IGWT
Well - do you?
MANAGER
My personal beliefs have nothing to do with the present situation at hand. How about paying with some cold cash, instead?IGWTSee? It's your "who cares" attitude that could cause "In God We Trust" to be removed from our coins!
MANAGER
So you admit that's not your real name! I knew it!
IGWT
I beg your pardon! FYI - that IS my legal name! Here... I'll show you my driver's license...and my vehicle registration...
MANAGER
(reading pieces of identification)
Well, I thought I've seen it all! Forgive me sir. I was wrong and you're right! However, you must admit that this is a bit unusual
IGWT
Let's just say it's my own personal political statementMANAGERFine with me. Now if you'll just sign the bill here... I can't seem to read your second name.
IGWT
E Pluribus Unum. Is there a problem?
Thursday, May 01, 2008
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS - SO SOLDIER SUES
Having the name Paris Hilton, and being in the spotlight, there's bound to be some negative reports off and on. That's life being Paris. However, being sued for being...Paris takes things to a whole new level.
The private claims that calling him Paris after the notorious heiress is “demeaning”.
Hylton, a chef with the Welsh Guards, is suing for race discrimination because he says other soldiers continued to call him “Paris”, even though officers ordered them to stop. His solicitor even wrote to Prince Charles, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, urging him to step down after letters to the regiment’s commanding officer detailing the allegations went unanswered.
Hylton, 33, says he finds the nickname offensive because he considers Paris Hilton – the wayward socialite belonging to the hotel dynasty – is “a white woman with a low reputation”.
He also claims that he was repeatedly called a string of racist names at his barracks in Birdcage Walk close to Buckingham Palace.
Hylton’s wife and children were also allegedly left in fear after a hate campaign in which locks on the doors at their married quarters were repeatedly superglued shut. At one stage Hylton, who was born in Jamaica, complains that an NCO who racially abused him had also punched him, leaving him requiring hospital treatment.
But he claims in legal papers submitted to Central London Employment Tribunal, which will hear his case next month, that he was the one who was arrested – and military police recorded his name in statements as Paris Hilton.
Hylton, from Woolwich, south-east London, says his ordeal has forced him out of his £22,000-a-year post and he is due to leave the Army next month.
The private is demanding £50,000 compensation from the Ministry of Defence, which denies his allegations and is vigorously contesting the case.
A spokesman for Prince Charles declined to comment.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
GHOSTLY HAPPENINGS IN PENNSYLVANIA POLICE STATION
Seems that there have been reports over the years about ghostly occurrences in the Homestead, PA. police station. Police officers there, probably weary and leery of their station having a reputation as being haunted, are going all out to dispel or confirm the presence of those from the spiritual realm.
Reports have included slamming doors and creaky floors but there are other more visible occurrences that require investigation.
There’s the phantom typist. Several people have seen the keys on a typewriter moving on their own. Typist? As in typewriter? What about computers?
Then there's the attic door that springs open no matter how many times it's bolted shut, not to mention chilling air that blows through enclosed hallways and around old cellblocks.
Not to be overlooked is the broken snow plow that started up on its own in November minus a key and battery.
Denise Kelly, who worked at the building for years, showed a reporter a room she and other staffers almost never entered alone and this is where paranormal investigators set up shop when they paid a visit.
The department called on the Greater Pittsburgh Paranormal Society, and they said they found something in the boiler room. Paranormal investigators said the staff will have to wait until their investigation is complete to find out what they believe is that something.
Interesting that there is no mention of eerie happenings from prisoners...
Anyway, here's the site for the G.P.P.S. - Greater Pittsburgh Paranormal Society here:
http://pittsburghparanormal.com/
The mission of the GPPS is: "...to investigate and collect data pertaining to the paranormal, and to offer assistance to those who believe their lives are being affected by a haunting and to help them take charge of their lives.
We also classify and collect possible evidence, and to firstly rule out any natural occurrences. In the case that G.P.P.S. does not find evidence on the first investigation, we will offer another investigation immediately, and offer ongoing assistance to you. Just because we do not find evidence doesn't mean that we do not believe that you are a victim of a haunting."
Perhaps there just could be a TV series down the line...
Reports have included slamming doors and creaky floors but there are other more visible occurrences that require investigation.
There’s the phantom typist. Several people have seen the keys on a typewriter moving on their own. Typist? As in typewriter? What about computers?
Then there's the attic door that springs open no matter how many times it's bolted shut, not to mention chilling air that blows through enclosed hallways and around old cellblocks.
Not to be overlooked is the broken snow plow that started up on its own in November minus a key and battery.
Denise Kelly, who worked at the building for years, showed a reporter a room she and other staffers almost never entered alone and this is where paranormal investigators set up shop when they paid a visit.
The department called on the Greater Pittsburgh Paranormal Society, and they said they found something in the boiler room. Paranormal investigators said the staff will have to wait until their investigation is complete to find out what they believe is that something.
Interesting that there is no mention of eerie happenings from prisoners...
Anyway, here's the site for the G.P.P.S. - Greater Pittsburgh Paranormal Society here:
http://pittsburghparanormal.com/
The mission of the GPPS is: "...to investigate and collect data pertaining to the paranormal, and to offer assistance to those who believe their lives are being affected by a haunting and to help them take charge of their lives.
We also classify and collect possible evidence, and to firstly rule out any natural occurrences. In the case that G.P.P.S. does not find evidence on the first investigation, we will offer another investigation immediately, and offer ongoing assistance to you. Just because we do not find evidence doesn't mean that we do not believe that you are a victim of a haunting."
Perhaps there just could be a TV series down the line...
Friday, March 07, 2008
NO SWEARING IN SOUTH PASADENA...AT LEAST ONCE PER MONTH
This community on the edge of Los Angeles has become a cuss-free zone.
Not that police will slap cuffs on you and haul your sorry, er, butt off to jail in light of the proclamation passed Wednesday by the City Council. But you could be shamed into better behavior by the unsettling glares of residents who take their reputation for civility seriously.
"That's one of the purposes of this," Mayor Michael Cacciotti said of his city's proclamation designating the first week of March as No Cussing Week. "It provides us a reminder to be more civil, to elevate the level of discourse."
The proclamation will be in effect until Friday, and then the first week of every March hereafter.
South Pasadena, a tranquil city of tree-shaded cottages at the base of a mountain range eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, isn't the first to try to rein in potty mouths. Earlier this year, the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Mo., proposed banning swearing in bars. Last year, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called for an industrywide ban on racially and sexually charged epithets.
But what's different about the latest push to stop saying in public the words that Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton recently discovered we still can't say on television is that it was proposed by a 14-year-old boy.
"My mom and dad always taught me good morals, good values, and not cussing was one of them," said McKay Hatch, the founder of South Pasadena High School's No Cussing Club, during a recent break between study hall and tennis practice.
"I've cussed before, I'm not gonna lie to you," Hatch quickly added. "But I try not to cuss any more."
He was in junior high school when he became fed up with all the blue language around him.
He understood why his friends use foul language: "They just want to fit in like everybody else and they don't know how. They figure if they cuss maybe it's an easy way to do that."
But it wasn't for him.
"I finally told my friends, `I don't cuss.' And I said, `If you want to hang out with me, you don't cuss.'"
It took a couple of years, but enough friends finally came around that Hatch formed a 50-member club, handed out fliers and called the group's first meeting, held June 1.
Nine months later, the No Cussing Club has a Web site, claims 10,000 members and boasts chapters in several states and countries. Hatch considers his greatest achievement, though, to be getting his hometown of 25,000 to become a cuss-free zone.
He hopes to encourage cuss-free zones in other cities to improve the quality of life.
Check out the "No Cussing Club" here: http://www.nocussing.com/
D'ya think this club will catch on in other states?
Not that police will slap cuffs on you and haul your sorry, er, butt off to jail in light of the proclamation passed Wednesday by the City Council. But you could be shamed into better behavior by the unsettling glares of residents who take their reputation for civility seriously.
"That's one of the purposes of this," Mayor Michael Cacciotti said of his city's proclamation designating the first week of March as No Cussing Week. "It provides us a reminder to be more civil, to elevate the level of discourse."
The proclamation will be in effect until Friday, and then the first week of every March hereafter.
South Pasadena, a tranquil city of tree-shaded cottages at the base of a mountain range eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, isn't the first to try to rein in potty mouths. Earlier this year, the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Mo., proposed banning swearing in bars. Last year, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called for an industrywide ban on racially and sexually charged epithets.
But what's different about the latest push to stop saying in public the words that Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton recently discovered we still can't say on television is that it was proposed by a 14-year-old boy.
"My mom and dad always taught me good morals, good values, and not cussing was one of them," said McKay Hatch, the founder of South Pasadena High School's No Cussing Club, during a recent break between study hall and tennis practice.
"I've cussed before, I'm not gonna lie to you," Hatch quickly added. "But I try not to cuss any more."
He was in junior high school when he became fed up with all the blue language around him.
He understood why his friends use foul language: "They just want to fit in like everybody else and they don't know how. They figure if they cuss maybe it's an easy way to do that."
But it wasn't for him.
"I finally told my friends, `I don't cuss.' And I said, `If you want to hang out with me, you don't cuss.'"
It took a couple of years, but enough friends finally came around that Hatch formed a 50-member club, handed out fliers and called the group's first meeting, held June 1.
Nine months later, the No Cussing Club has a Web site, claims 10,000 members and boasts chapters in several states and countries. Hatch considers his greatest achievement, though, to be getting his hometown of 25,000 to become a cuss-free zone.
He hopes to encourage cuss-free zones in other cities to improve the quality of life.
Check out the "No Cussing Club" here: http://www.nocussing.com/
D'ya think this club will catch on in other states?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
I'm so angst-ridden: yet another e-mail asking me for help!
Why me, I ask you? Huh? I just this very minute... Okay five minutes ago...received this e-mail and am so fraught with indecision. I mean - the sender even addressed me by my first name!
"Dear Eleanor,"
Not just Eleanor mind you, but dear Eleanor.
"Please, do not be offended as this came to you without your permission. Which ever way you may look at it may it please you to repond either negatively or positively, so that i will know what next to do."
Respond either...negatively or...positively... Uh-huh...no neutral response for this person!
"I am Mr. Blah-blah, thirty two years of age and the fifth son of the reknowned Gambian industralist and the director general of D Sawmill, Chief Blah-blah-blah, who has companies and industries all over West Africa ."
So at this point - I'm impressed. Here somebody who obviously recognized my fame as a writer/wanna-be playwright/aspiring artist etc. etc. is a man of wealth and power. The man owns a sawmill! I've never known a sawmill owner before and better still - he's rich.
"As it may interest you to know, i got your contact through the internet professional data base by divine inspiration as i made this operation my only way of survival and i decided to contact you in order to tackle this without delay."
Ohmyohmy... Divine inspiration no less!
"My father Chief, Chief Blah is a victim of polygamy and womanizing married to twenty eight wives with sixty three children, very stingy and brutal to all of us, but mine is different as i have no brother or sister of the same father and mother due to the premature death of my mother in child birth on the 24th jan 1979 when i was only six years old, remaining under the brutal care of my wicked father who turned me to a slave istead of a son.."
Now things get a little confusing for me, here. His dad was a victim of polygamy and a womanizer married to 28 wives and has 63 children... Mr. Blah-blah has no brother or sister of the same(?) father and mother due to the death of his mother... Uh-huh... So that's 28 woman times... No divide that by... Forgetaboutit. Math never was my strong subject in school.
"With all his wealth, he could only make me the assistant sales manger in one of his alliance wood industries (D SAWMILL) republic of the Gambia with seviere maltretment and underation, irregular and poor salary , after depriving me of proper education and insisting that i must work under him. Being under my father gives no future to any ambitious young man , so for the purpose of my own progress and to liberate myself, i managed to make away with his THREE MILLION FIVE HUNDREND THOUSAND USA DOLLARS in a safe box when he was on holidays and came to republic of Togo where i deposited it in one security company."
Well...Mr. Blah-blah didn't do too badly all things considered squirreling away 3,500,000 USD, which he appears to have stored in a safe box. Right?
"Here in Lome iam like a refugee , no place of my own to lay my head, always hidding from people who may know me or my father, Please, iam here begging you to assist me urgently in the release and transfer of the fund to your account , then you invite me to come ,invest and live in your country as a partner or any way you may want it providing i get out quickly from here because of my shylock father."
That's it! All I hav'ta do! Allow Mr. Blah-blah to deposit money in my account! So as a good will gesture, I'm gonna send Mr. Blah-blah a return e-mail inviting him to invest in my ice-making company in Labrador. I mean, it's the least I can do.
"I am Waiting in hope for your urgent reply."
Me too.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
"Dear Eleanor,"
Not just Eleanor mind you, but dear Eleanor.
"Please, do not be offended as this came to you without your permission. Which ever way you may look at it may it please you to repond either negatively or positively, so that i will know what next to do."
Respond either...negatively or...positively... Uh-huh...no neutral response for this person!
"I am Mr. Blah-blah, thirty two years of age and the fifth son of the reknowned Gambian industralist and the director general of D Sawmill, Chief Blah-blah-blah, who has companies and industries all over West Africa ."
So at this point - I'm impressed. Here somebody who obviously recognized my fame as a writer/wanna-be playwright/aspiring artist etc. etc. is a man of wealth and power. The man owns a sawmill! I've never known a sawmill owner before and better still - he's rich.
"As it may interest you to know, i got your contact through the internet professional data base by divine inspiration as i made this operation my only way of survival and i decided to contact you in order to tackle this without delay."
Ohmyohmy... Divine inspiration no less!
"My father Chief, Chief Blah is a victim of polygamy and womanizing married to twenty eight wives with sixty three children, very stingy and brutal to all of us, but mine is different as i have no brother or sister of the same father and mother due to the premature death of my mother in child birth on the 24th jan 1979 when i was only six years old, remaining under the brutal care of my wicked father who turned me to a slave istead of a son.."
Now things get a little confusing for me, here. His dad was a victim of polygamy and a womanizer married to 28 wives and has 63 children... Mr. Blah-blah has no brother or sister of the same(?) father and mother due to the death of his mother... Uh-huh... So that's 28 woman times... No divide that by... Forgetaboutit. Math never was my strong subject in school.
"With all his wealth, he could only make me the assistant sales manger in one of his alliance wood industries (D SAWMILL) republic of the Gambia with seviere maltretment and underation, irregular and poor salary , after depriving me of proper education and insisting that i must work under him. Being under my father gives no future to any ambitious young man , so for the purpose of my own progress and to liberate myself, i managed to make away with his THREE MILLION FIVE HUNDREND THOUSAND USA DOLLARS in a safe box when he was on holidays and came to republic of Togo where i deposited it in one security company."
Well...Mr. Blah-blah didn't do too badly all things considered squirreling away 3,500,000 USD, which he appears to have stored in a safe box. Right?
"Here in Lome iam like a refugee , no place of my own to lay my head, always hidding from people who may know me or my father, Please, iam here begging you to assist me urgently in the release and transfer of the fund to your account , then you invite me to come ,invest and live in your country as a partner or any way you may want it providing i get out quickly from here because of my shylock father."
That's it! All I hav'ta do! Allow Mr. Blah-blah to deposit money in my account! So as a good will gesture, I'm gonna send Mr. Blah-blah a return e-mail inviting him to invest in my ice-making company in Labrador. I mean, it's the least I can do.
"I am Waiting in hope for your urgent reply."
Me too.
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Monday, February 11, 2008
HEATHER AND PAUL (OR PAUL AND HEATHER) back in court
And so the melodrama continues... Heather (McCartney) Mills and Paul McCartney were back in divorce court for yet another round of "he-did she-did" etc.
Paul McCartney arrived at the High Court in London ahead of his divorce hearing. The fight over the wealth of the former Beatle, who is estimated to be worth up to $1.6 billion(!), could result in Britain's biggest divorce settlement. According to media reports it could be worth between $20 million and £100 million.
Mills, 40, said nothing as she entered a courtroom at London's Royal Courts of Justice. McCartney, 65, arrived at court after his estranged wife. He (Paul) said "good morning" as he entered court carrying a black case.Divorce proceedings in Britain are heard in private, and the door of Court 34 carried a sign saying "No Admittance -- Strictly Private," according to the Press Association.
A media frenzy accompanied the couple's first court hearing in October as they tried to reach a settlement. Since then, Mills has fired her lawyers and lashed out at the media during television interviews, after sections of the British press portrayed her as a gold-digger.
Mills intends to represent herself, according to British media, at the expected weeklong hearings.McCartney, meanwhile, has kept silent about their split, with speculation that he is hoping Mills will do the same by signing a divorce settlement that will forbid her from talking about their relationship in the future.The terms of any settlement would not become public unless the case reached the appeals court.
The couple, who have a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice Milly, married in 2002 after meeting at a charity event.At the time of their split, they insisted it was "amicable" despite widespread reports of a tempestuous relationship between McCartney and Mills, an ex-model. In an emotional outburst in a television interview late last year, Mills said she had been driven to the brink of suicide by the media treatment of her.
"Eighteen months of abuse, worse than a murderer or a pedophile," she told British morning television."
This leads one to wonder why she had a child with somebody who is "...worse than a murderer of pedophile." While nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors in a marriage, I remember a few years back when Heather and Sir Paul were guests on Larry King Live. Being an advocate of seals and land mines she went on...and on...and on... about how bad the Canadian government was especially one particular province's attitude towards the seal hunt. On his part Sir Paul said absolutely nothing but looked like he was very embarrassed and was cringing internally.
I also watched her on "Dancing With the Stars" and there is something definitely amiss (IMHO) with that woman. She is just not likeable. I think she was hoping that somebody - anybody - would use her as a guest star and her advocacy on behalf of land mines/seals etc. etc. or even hire her as an entertainment anchor. Nobody has and given the popularity of Paul, nobody will. She should quit while she's ahead, take the money she's offered in the divorce settlement and move on with her life. That's the best offer she's gonna get.
Surf on over here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/paul-mccartney-heather-mills for more details on the proceedings but also a juicy bit of info. about her affair while married to Paul.
Paul McCartney arrived at the High Court in London ahead of his divorce hearing. The fight over the wealth of the former Beatle, who is estimated to be worth up to $1.6 billion(!), could result in Britain's biggest divorce settlement. According to media reports it could be worth between $20 million and £100 million.
Mills, 40, said nothing as she entered a courtroom at London's Royal Courts of Justice. McCartney, 65, arrived at court after his estranged wife. He (Paul) said "good morning" as he entered court carrying a black case.Divorce proceedings in Britain are heard in private, and the door of Court 34 carried a sign saying "No Admittance -- Strictly Private," according to the Press Association.
A media frenzy accompanied the couple's first court hearing in October as they tried to reach a settlement. Since then, Mills has fired her lawyers and lashed out at the media during television interviews, after sections of the British press portrayed her as a gold-digger.
Mills intends to represent herself, according to British media, at the expected weeklong hearings.McCartney, meanwhile, has kept silent about their split, with speculation that he is hoping Mills will do the same by signing a divorce settlement that will forbid her from talking about their relationship in the future.The terms of any settlement would not become public unless the case reached the appeals court.
The couple, who have a four-year-old daughter, Beatrice Milly, married in 2002 after meeting at a charity event.At the time of their split, they insisted it was "amicable" despite widespread reports of a tempestuous relationship between McCartney and Mills, an ex-model. In an emotional outburst in a television interview late last year, Mills said she had been driven to the brink of suicide by the media treatment of her.
"Eighteen months of abuse, worse than a murderer or a pedophile," she told British morning television."
This leads one to wonder why she had a child with somebody who is "...worse than a murderer of pedophile." While nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors in a marriage, I remember a few years back when Heather and Sir Paul were guests on Larry King Live. Being an advocate of seals and land mines she went on...and on...and on... about how bad the Canadian government was especially one particular province's attitude towards the seal hunt. On his part Sir Paul said absolutely nothing but looked like he was very embarrassed and was cringing internally.
I also watched her on "Dancing With the Stars" and there is something definitely amiss (IMHO) with that woman. She is just not likeable. I think she was hoping that somebody - anybody - would use her as a guest star and her advocacy on behalf of land mines/seals etc. etc. or even hire her as an entertainment anchor. Nobody has and given the popularity of Paul, nobody will. She should quit while she's ahead, take the money she's offered in the divorce settlement and move on with her life. That's the best offer she's gonna get.
Surf on over here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/paul-mccartney-heather-mills for more details on the proceedings but also a juicy bit of info. about her affair while married to Paul.
Monday, February 04, 2008
NOT JUST YOUR ORDINARY SNAKE (PYTHON) IN THE GRASS
There are friendships between a boy and his pet that make memories for a life time. Then there are those special relationships that make one wonder, "huh?" In this case the special friendship is between a boy and his pet python.
No misprint. A boy and his pet python.
Pythons have a reputation for being very huggable, huge reptiles that require their meals live, as in live chickens...live rabbits... It comes as a surprise - more like a shock - to learn that a young Cambodian boy is currently sharing his life with a five metre long python named Chamreun that weighs in at 100 kg.
The 7 year old boy named, Sambath Uorn, who sleeps with his "friend" rides on the snake's back and pats it down with baby powder. The snake enjoys nothing more than allowing her young friend to curl up inside her coils.
I bet, uttered the cynic.
The best friends became acquainted when both were small when the snake visited the house. Sambath's mother moved the snake to a river bank but a few weeks later, the snake paid a return visit. The rest as they say is history and Chamreun has earned a place in the family's heart and home. Let's hope not in the snake's stomach.
It even has its own two-by-three-metre room with a spirit house at which Khuorn Sam Ol prays for the python to keep his family happy and healthy. In Cambodian culture, they believe that the reptile protects the family and could be reincarnated.
Thing is...can you trust a snake especially a python, whose nature is to give realllly big hugs and then some?
Chamroeun - whom it takes three adults to carry - eats about 10 kilograms of chicken meat every week, posing a heavy financial burden on the family. Be that as it may, the family have no intention of giving up their "pet" - at least for the time being.
Wildlife and police officials used to come by to try to take the snake away and put it in a zoo. But they relented after seeing Uorn Sambath lovingly cuddling the reptile. They left with some pictures they took of the boy and the snake together, Khuorn Sam Ol said.
"I will not let anyone take her away from me, either. I love her very much," declared his son, Uorn Sambath, kissing his pet on the head. The snake can grow up to be 8 metres long and can weigh up to 180kg.
To see family photos of best pals, Sambath and Chamteun:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/29/wsnake129.xml
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
No misprint. A boy and his pet python.
Pythons have a reputation for being very huggable, huge reptiles that require their meals live, as in live chickens...live rabbits... It comes as a surprise - more like a shock - to learn that a young Cambodian boy is currently sharing his life with a five metre long python named Chamreun that weighs in at 100 kg.
The 7 year old boy named, Sambath Uorn, who sleeps with his "friend" rides on the snake's back and pats it down with baby powder. The snake enjoys nothing more than allowing her young friend to curl up inside her coils.
I bet, uttered the cynic.
The best friends became acquainted when both were small when the snake visited the house. Sambath's mother moved the snake to a river bank but a few weeks later, the snake paid a return visit. The rest as they say is history and Chamreun has earned a place in the family's heart and home. Let's hope not in the snake's stomach.
It even has its own two-by-three-metre room with a spirit house at which Khuorn Sam Ol prays for the python to keep his family happy and healthy. In Cambodian culture, they believe that the reptile protects the family and could be reincarnated.
Thing is...can you trust a snake especially a python, whose nature is to give realllly big hugs and then some?
Chamroeun - whom it takes three adults to carry - eats about 10 kilograms of chicken meat every week, posing a heavy financial burden on the family. Be that as it may, the family have no intention of giving up their "pet" - at least for the time being.
Wildlife and police officials used to come by to try to take the snake away and put it in a zoo. But they relented after seeing Uorn Sambath lovingly cuddling the reptile. They left with some pictures they took of the boy and the snake together, Khuorn Sam Ol said.
"I will not let anyone take her away from me, either. I love her very much," declared his son, Uorn Sambath, kissing his pet on the head. The snake can grow up to be 8 metres long and can weigh up to 180kg.
To see family photos of best pals, Sambath and Chamteun:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/29/wsnake129.xml
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Friday, February 01, 2008
OF LOST EYEBALL...DEFLATED DOLL...AND OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF
Came accross two interesting tales of loss worth passing on. Maybe it's just my quirkie sense of humor but they did make me smile. That's life!
Let's say...you're staying at a hotel in this case in Tasmania and somebody knocks on your hotel room door to deliver a box. Let's say...you open it and staring down at the contents, are greeted with an eye ball staring back.
That's exactly what happened to a hotel guest in Tasmania when he received a foam cold box containing a single human eyeball. The box marked 'Live human organs for transplant' was delivered by mistake to a hotel in Hobart by a taxi driver.
Hotel worker Gabriel Winner, who requested the name of the hotel not be used (I bet!), says the agitated guest brought the box to reception.
"The guy left with me with a box with an eyeball in it,'" he said. "I thought this is just too weird. I went and put it in the fridge because I didn't know what else to do with it. It was more than a little disconcerting."
So this leaves one to wonder why Mr. Winner (interesting name is this case) would assume that one of his guests was waiting for the delivery of an eyeball. I mean, it's not something that most if not all people would order. Even more interesting that he put it in the fridge along with other "normal" food. Can you imagine the shock a hotel employee would receive when opening the fridge to take a prepared sandwich for lunch?It's something out of a horror movie!
MAD SCIENTIST
Igor...go deliver this eyeball
IGOR
Where master?
MAD SCIENTIST
Let me check the destination... The Provincial Hospital
IGOR
Sorry? Could you repeat that?
MAD SCIENTIST
When are you going to get a hearing aid? I said, 'Provincial Hospital'
IGOR
Of course, master. Provincial Hotel...
And the rest as they say, is history.
An Australian Air Express spokeswoman confirmed a "failure in an internal handover process'" and apologized.
To say the least.
"As soon as we discovered the error we quickly rectified that and delivered the consignment within the appropriate timeframe,'" she said.Queensland Health spokeswoman Penny Geraghty said tissue from the eye was recovered and successfully transferred to a patient. "Nobody missed their operation. The tissue wasn't compromised," she said.
***********************************************************************************
Sometimes you can't win for losing. Take the case of this Romanian guy who recently registered a complaint with officials that his inflatable doll has lost its moan. Not knowing anyone who has ever encountered this - um - situation or problem, I would imagine that - um - a moan-less adult doll would be kind of...demoralizing.
"Moan, damn you, Isla!" the man probably/could have/might have said as he... Never mind.
A sex shop in Brasov, Transylvania, was fined 600£ and ordered to provide the man, said to be in his 40s, with a new doll.
The man had also complained that the rubber doll deflated too quickly(!), according to local media.
Well... I'm no scientist or physicist but perhaps - um - the doll's owner was a little bit too - how shall we say - active with his vinyl "friend?"
Iulian Mara, head of the local Consumer Protection Office, said: "No matter how strange it sounded to us, we went to the sex-shop from where the man bought the object of complaint and found out he was justified.
So...like...how did Mr. Mara et al discover that the complaint was justified, one asks/ponders.
"The doll was losing air very quickly and due to a faulty electrical circuit it didn't make the expected specific sounds."Oh gawd! Electricity is involved? I mean, what about shocks? Did the doll operate on batteries or was she a plug-in, one wonders...
There is no mention you will note, about what type of sounds were uttered.
Never a dull moment in Transylvania...
Let's say...you're staying at a hotel in this case in Tasmania and somebody knocks on your hotel room door to deliver a box. Let's say...you open it and staring down at the contents, are greeted with an eye ball staring back.
That's exactly what happened to a hotel guest in Tasmania when he received a foam cold box containing a single human eyeball. The box marked 'Live human organs for transplant' was delivered by mistake to a hotel in Hobart by a taxi driver.
Hotel worker Gabriel Winner, who requested the name of the hotel not be used (I bet!), says the agitated guest brought the box to reception.
"The guy left with me with a box with an eyeball in it,'" he said. "I thought this is just too weird. I went and put it in the fridge because I didn't know what else to do with it. It was more than a little disconcerting."
So this leaves one to wonder why Mr. Winner (interesting name is this case) would assume that one of his guests was waiting for the delivery of an eyeball. I mean, it's not something that most if not all people would order. Even more interesting that he put it in the fridge along with other "normal" food. Can you imagine the shock a hotel employee would receive when opening the fridge to take a prepared sandwich for lunch?It's something out of a horror movie!
MAD SCIENTIST
Igor...go deliver this eyeball
IGOR
Where master?
MAD SCIENTIST
Let me check the destination... The Provincial Hospital
IGOR
Sorry? Could you repeat that?
MAD SCIENTIST
When are you going to get a hearing aid? I said, 'Provincial Hospital'
IGOR
Of course, master. Provincial Hotel...
And the rest as they say, is history.
An Australian Air Express spokeswoman confirmed a "failure in an internal handover process'" and apologized.
To say the least.
"As soon as we discovered the error we quickly rectified that and delivered the consignment within the appropriate timeframe,'" she said.Queensland Health spokeswoman Penny Geraghty said tissue from the eye was recovered and successfully transferred to a patient. "Nobody missed their operation. The tissue wasn't compromised," she said.
***********************************************************************************
Sometimes you can't win for losing. Take the case of this Romanian guy who recently registered a complaint with officials that his inflatable doll has lost its moan. Not knowing anyone who has ever encountered this - um - situation or problem, I would imagine that - um - a moan-less adult doll would be kind of...demoralizing.
"Moan, damn you, Isla!" the man probably/could have/might have said as he... Never mind.
A sex shop in Brasov, Transylvania, was fined 600£ and ordered to provide the man, said to be in his 40s, with a new doll.
The man had also complained that the rubber doll deflated too quickly(!), according to local media.
Well... I'm no scientist or physicist but perhaps - um - the doll's owner was a little bit too - how shall we say - active with his vinyl "friend?"
Iulian Mara, head of the local Consumer Protection Office, said: "No matter how strange it sounded to us, we went to the sex-shop from where the man bought the object of complaint and found out he was justified.
So...like...how did Mr. Mara et al discover that the complaint was justified, one asks/ponders.
"The doll was losing air very quickly and due to a faulty electrical circuit it didn't make the expected specific sounds."Oh gawd! Electricity is involved? I mean, what about shocks? Did the doll operate on batteries or was she a plug-in, one wonders...
There is no mention you will note, about what type of sounds were uttered.
Never a dull moment in Transylvania...
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