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?

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

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MAD (VERY) COW OUTBREAK; PIG ABUSE...ANIMAL TALES

OWNER ACCUSES PET SITTER OF SWINE ABUSE

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!Perhaps - just perhaps - this is a case for going on a diet!

After asking a friend to take care of her pot-bellied pig while on medical leave, the owner of said pig wants to file abuse charges against the pet sitter. Seems that her pig who she named, Alaina Templeton's (interesting name for a pig) weight tripled while under the care of her friend or pet sitter. Her BPS (before pet sitter) weight was 22.5kg and nine months later the pig weighed in at 68kg and it took 4 hours to surgically remove the collar. Police are investigating whether Alaina Templeton was indeed the victim of abuse by neglect or over-feeding.

"That pig is my life," said the pig's owner, who has a tattoo of Alaina's name.

I dunno! Given the amount of people in the world who suffer from physical and/or psychological abuse in this world... Makes you wonder...

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1739662007

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MAD (VERY) COW OUTBREAK

So a police officer in Sussex, England, has been hospitalized after being attacked by gang members. The members being particularly physical, butted and stamped on him while out walking his dog. Did I mention that the participants were a herd of 50 cows?

The officer, Inspector Chris Poole, received 4 broken ribs and a punctured lung as a result of the normally docile animals sudden urge to charge him. One angry cow charged him in the back forcing him to the ground, before the others members of the herd joined in.

Inspector Poole said he only managed to escape when Zak, his faithful golden retriever, ran away and the cows chased after it. Inspector Poole then managed to attract the attention of another dog walker, who called for an air ambulance.

However, this wasn't the end of his ordeal.

Three days later, while still in hospital, one of his broken ribs shifted out of place and severed an artery. Fortunately, this was detected in time or he might have died.

In warning other walkers, Inspector Poole advised walkers to give all cows a wide berth in future.

The RSPCA said cows could become protective of their young to the point of becoming aggressive, especially if a large dog was nearby.
Web links

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1735302007


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WHAT NEXT? POPCORN CAUSES POPCORN LUNG...MAYBE...COULD BE...

Is there nothing left in life to enjoy? Weight watchers have been told that two cups of popcorn is a healthy and less fattening snack food and recommended for people on a diet. Now researchers are telling us that butter-flavored popcorn may be bad for our health. I mean - c'mon! Popcorn and movies are like...sacred, almost!

The public is being warned by lung specialists that not only factory workers could be in danger as a result of the fumes from buttery-flavored microwave popcorn, in a letter issued by federal regulars from a physician at a leading lung research hospital.

Oh? Somebody is getting research funds to study popcorn and I wasn't asked to participate?


A pulmonary specialist at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal agencies reporting that doctors working there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.

This begs at least from my perspective, the question as to how many of us actually eat pop popcorn several times a day? This person obviously had a popcorn addiction that went untreated for many years for this to occur. Perhaps had she/he been weaned away... But I digress.

"We cannot be sure that this patient's exposure to butter flavored microwave popcorn from daily heavy preparation has caused his lung disease," cautioned Dr. Cecile Rose. "However, we have no other plausible explanation."

The July letter, made public Tuesday by a public health policy blog, refers to a potentially fatal disease commonly called popcorn lung that has been the subject of lawsuits by hundreds of workers at food factories exposed to chemicals used for flavouring.

Note there is no Latin term as yet for the new syndrome. Popcornus lungitis bad-forus springs to mind.

In response to Rose's finding, the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavourings they make. It noted that diacetyl is approved for use in flavours by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

One national popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis, said last week it would replace the butter flavouring ingredient because of consumer concern. Congress has also been debating new safety measures for workers in food processing plants exposed to diacetyl.
The FDA said in an e-mail it is evaluating Rose's letter and "carefully considering the safety and regulatory issues it raises."

Fred Blosser, spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said it is the first case the institute has seen of lung disease apparently linked to popcorn fumes outside the workplace.

A spokesman for National Jewish Medical, confirmed the letter was sent by Rose, a specialist in occupational and environmental lung diseases and director of the hospital's Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic.

"There have been no other cases that we know of other than the industrial occupational ones," Allstetter said.

Rose acknowledged in the letter that it is difficult to confirm through one case that popping buttered microwave popcorn at home can cause lung disease. However, she said she wanted to alert regulators of the potential public health implications.

Perhaps if we don't inhale...

Rose said the ailing patient, a man whom she wouldn't identify, consumed "several bags of extra butter flavoured microwave popcorn" every day for several years. He described progressively worsening respiratory symptoms of coughing and shortness of breath. Tests found his ability to exhale was deteriorating, Rose said, although his condition seemed to stabilize after he quit using microwave popcorn.

Read an up-close-and-personal story about the man who has allegedly experienced first-hand the effects of popcorn lung here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/06/health/main3239379.shtml

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