Frightened baby

Melbourne Zoo's new Asian elephant - named Baby for the time being.

Baby is only the second elephant born in Australia.

Leftover photo from winter Olympics

Portrait of a Canadian fan at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Spirit Airlines to charge carry-on bag fee up to $45

Spirit Airlines has become the first U.S. carrier to charge passengers for carrying on a bag, upping the stakes for travelers who are increasingly charged for everything from pillows to snacks.

What other airlines are doing:

JetBlue lets passengers bring a carry-on bag as well as a personal item aboard with no extra fee. Customers are also able to check their first bag for free, but a second checked bag costs $30.

Other major airlines, including Delta, Continental, Frontier and United, all let passengers carry on one bag and one personal item for free, but charge fliers about $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second bag.

Spirit, the first domestic airline to charge for checking a bag, will now charge fliers $20 to $30 for carry-ons that go in the overhead bins and $45 if the bag is paid for at the gate. The new fees apply to trips bought beginning Tuesday for travel on and after Aug. 1. The fee doesn't apply to carry-ons that fit under the seat.

More here.

On patrol - almost undercover - using a “ghost car”

The Westchester NY Police Department is using a ghost car to help officers enforce laws on driver distractions such as cell phone use.

Car No. 1453 looks as if it rolled off the assembly line a few minutes too soon, before arriving at the machine that puts the siren on the roof and the colors on the door decals.

The photo above shows the “ghost car” alongside a regular police car.

This plain look is the whole point of No. 1453, which is known throughout the Westchester County police department as the ghost car.

Link

Court rules FCC has no power to regulate Net neutrality

A court ruling has stripped the Federal Communications Commission of authority to regulate the Internet.

From a report at the link below:

It is a major defeat for President Barack Obama, who has called since early in his presidential campaign for rules that prohibit Internet service providers such as Comcast and Verizon from interfering with Web traffic.

There are three sides to this story:

1. Tech companies such as Google, Skype and amazon argue for an “open Internet” with no restrictions on what services and devices consumers can have access to.

2. Cable and phone companies including AT&T, Verizon and Comcast argue that they need flexibility to manage traffic on their networks and maintain speeds for consumers.

3. Obama and the Democrats want the FCC to control the Internet.

One of the main reasons Obama wants Internet control is because the major political bloggers on the Internet are overwhelmingly conservative just as most major political radio talk shows are conservative.

For that reason, several Democrat lawmakers vow to do whatever it takes to give the FCC authority over Web providers. The key word is control. In this case it’s all about controlling the political ‘opposition.’

“In the long run, we may need a new legal and regulatory framework for broadband,” said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. “I know the Congress did not intend for cable and telephone broadband Internet service providers to fall outside the authority of the FCC.”

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, later said the court’s decision “must not be the final word.”

Link

Sheriff Joe to make inmates pedal bike to power TV’s

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is implementing a new inmate program at Tent City Jail called “Pedal Vision.”

The program calls for inmate-powered cycles to generate electricity for televisions as shown in the photos on the right.

One hour of pedaling equals one hour of television viewing for the inmates.

Arpaio said the inmates will only be able to watch television in the television room if they choose to pedal.

We wonder if the inmates will be watching COPS?


This photo shows pedal power cycling volunteers on the BBC's Bang Goes the Theory, a British television science magazine series.

The Sheriff Joe pedal-powered TV story is here.

Moon over Cathedral in St.Petersburg Russia

This striking photo shows the moon rising in the sky above the domes of the Smolny Cathedral in St.Petersburg, Russia, in the early dawn.

The photo was taken with a digital camera through the eyepiece of a telescope.

General Petraeus for President? Why not?

From a report at the link below:

With many voters yearning for an outsider, and military officers looked up to, General David Petraeus (pictured) could be a powerful presidential candidate and a potentially accomplished President.

Many voters yearn for an outsider, someone with authenticity, integrity and proven accomplishment. Someone who has not spent their life plotting how to ascend the greasy pole, adjusting every utterance for maximum political advantage.

Barack Obama's favorability ratings have continued to slump until he is well below 50 per cent and he is no longer trusted or believed by many who voted for him.

The Tea Party movement reflects the widespread disgust with Washington and the political class.

Incumbents across the board are vulnerable in November's mid-term elections.

In this toxic climate, perhaps the only public institution that has increased in prestige in recent years is the American military. Its officers are looked upon, as General George Patton once noted, as "the modern representatives of the demi-gods and heroes of antiquity".

Where better place to look for Obama's successor than the military?

No one stands out like General David Petraeus, head of United States Central Command, leader of 230,000 troops and commander of United States forces in two wars. Having masterminded the Iraq surge, the stunning military gambit that seized victory from the jaws of defeat, he is now directing an equally daunting undertaking in Afghanistan.

More here.

Speeding cycle appears to be too fast for camera

A picture taken with a speed filter effect shows Spain's Euskatel-Euskadi cycling team, France's Romain Sicard competes on March 7, 2010 around Montfort-l'Amaury, western Paris, during the 8-km time-trial prologue of the 68th edition of the Paris-Nice cycling race.

This policeman needs more Segway practice

Upsy-daisy

Identity theft not a top FBI priority

Ten million Americans a year are victims of identity theft. It's a growing problem in the United States, but fighting it doesn't appear to be a priority, a new report says.

A report by the Justice Department Inspector General released Tuesday cites the wide-ranging costs and dangers of ID theft.

Inspector General Glenn Fine found the effort to combat the problem, however, has lagged since the President's Task Force on ID Theft was established in 2007.

The report says "the specific crime of identity theft is not a top FBI priority." However, the report adds that the FBI often addresses the issue through the Cyber Division's criminal intrusion program, which is a priority of the agency.

Link

The lighthearted side of aging

A Reporter was interviewing a 102-year-old woman. “What do you think is the best thing about being 102?” the reporter asked.

The lady smiled and replied, “No peer pressure.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

I've sure gotten old!

I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement and new knees. I've fought prostate cancer and diabetes.

I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine and take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.

I have bouts of dementia and my circulation is so poor I can hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.

I can't remember if I'm 85 or 92 and I’ve lost all my friends but, thank goodness, I still have my drivers license!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old,

You grow old because you stop laughing.

Billboards against Obama spreading in Atlanta

With midterm elections coming up and anger over the Health Care Bill boiling over, one group is taking their message to the streets. Literally.

Commuters driving on Atlanta highways this morning were greeted by billboards proclaiming "Stop Obama's Socialism" and "America's Coming for You Congress!" alongside a cartoon image of the president's face.

The group behind the signs call themselves Billboards Against Obama, and the message posted on their Web site is unmistakable:

"Do you love freedom? Do you love independence? If the current administration completes the process they are racing to achieve, all of this will be gone! To stop the madness, we must speak out now.

BILLBOARDS AGAINST OBAMA is a practical and effective way to join the battle, be seen, be heard, before it's too late."

Three standard messages can be purchased from the group, with prices ranging from $2,500-$3,500 per month. Examples of the vitriolic slogans on offer include "Now It's Personal! America's Coming for You Congress! Vote Liberals Out in 2010!" and "If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention."

Has a president of the United States ever stirred up this much grass roots anxiety, anger and resentment? And in less than 14 months!

Link here and here

Said she was overtaxed and got 17-minute lecture from Obama

Obama gave a 2,500 word lecture to a woman who asked him if it was a "wise decision to add more taxes to us with the health care" package.
"We are over-taxed as it is," the lady said bluntly.

Even by Obama's loquacious standards, an answer he gave on health care Friday was a doozy.

The report says Obama started out feisty then launched into a 17-minute lecture in response.

His discursive answer -- more than 2,500 words long -- wandered from topic to topic, including commentary on the deficit, pay-as-you-go rules passed by Congress, Congressional Budget Office reports on Medicare waste, COBRA coverage, the Recovery Act and Federal Medical Assistance Percentages

He talked about the notion of eliminating foreign aid (not worth it, he said). He invoked Warren Buffett, earmarks and the payroll tax that funds Medicare.

A few minutes later he got to the next point, which seemed awfully similar to the first.

He finally finished with, "I hope I answered your question."

Link

Warm temps bring out D.C. cherry blossoms for Easter

After an exceptionally cold and snowy winter, the cherry blossoms are out in Washington in time for Easter.

Seventy percent of the cherry blossoms around the Washington, D.C. tidal basin are blooming.

Is this the real face of Jesus?

Last week The History Channel revealed for the first time a new 3-D image that is believed to be the face of Jesus.

The History Channel used the shroud of Turin as the basis for the photo shown above.

Some skeptics claim the shroud of Turin is a piece of medieval church art or a counterfeit relic.

Link

Happy Easter

In your Easter bonnet…

…with all the frills upon it.

From a pulpit near you on Easter Sunday

“Many of you won’t be back here until next Easter so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas.”

The Issacs sing :It Is Well With My Soul”

Drunken priest hits mourner in the face at funeral

A French Catholic bishop has apologized after a 'punch-drunk' priest turned up inebriated to preside over a funeral and then hit a mourner in the face.

Father Bonaventure Ouedraogo was told by relatives that they did not want him to preside over the funeral held near the southwestern city of Toulouse.

They then prevented him from getting back into his car because he was too drunk to drive, according to Gerard Tillier, brother of the deceased woman.

At this point the priest fell to the ground, and when a man tried to help him to his feet, he punched him in the face.

Too much sacramental wine?

Link

Last California auto plant closed its doors

The last car has rolled off the production lines at California's sole auto plant.

The plant made Toyota Tacoma trucks and Corolla sedans. The last Tacoma rolled off the assembly lines last week, and Corolla production ended Thursday.

Link

Secret behind greatest student prank of all time

April Fools day is an appropriate time to report on what has been called the greatest student prank of all time.

A team of a dozen engineering students executed what was probably the most ingenious student prank ever.


The year was 1958. The place was Gonville & Caius College which is a part of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.

In June 1958, Cambridge awoke to see a car perched at the apex of an inaccessible rooftop, looking as if it were driving across the skyline.

It was an Austin Seven van that appeared out of nowhere on top of the Senate House roof.

The spectacle made headlines around the world and left police, firefighters and civil defense units battling for nearly a week to hoist the vehicle back down before giving in and taking it to pieces with blowtorches.

The shadowy group of engineering students who executed the stunt were never identified and the mystery of how they did it has baffled successive undergraduates and provided fodder for countless tourist guides.

Now, 50 years later, the group reunited to disclose their identities and reveal how they winched an Austin Seven to the top of the university's 70ft-high Senate House.

A diagram at the link below shows how the stunt was pulled off by the twelve students divided into three groups.

Link

Rep. Hank Johnson: Guam may capsize!

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week that he fears sending additional Marines to Guam, the island will become so overpopulated that it will "capsize" and fall over into the ocean.

Was Congressman Johnson serious? If so he must be about as dumb as a rock.

Was Congressman Johnson was being facetious? If so, taking up half the length of the video to describe Guam as a small island means that he may only be half as dumb as a rock.

TV Weatherman terrified by a cockroach

FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive list turns 60

The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List debuted on March 14, 1950, and has become a fixture of American culture.

The prototype for what would become the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list began with a newspaper story by reporter James Donovan, who asked the bureau: "Who are the 10 toughest guys you are looking for?"

His article appeared on the front page of the Washington Daily News in 1949 and encouraged the FBI to make the list an official crime-fighting tool.

Since the list's inception in 1950, some 494 fugitives have been counted among the worst of the worst.

Link

Obama still searching for a TSA chief

More than a year into Obama's Administration -- and three months after the Nigerian underwear bomber came close to blowing a U.S. airliner out of the sky over Detroit -- the nation still doesn't have a top cop at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Why is the Obama Administration having such a tough time filling this vital slot?

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Harding took himself out of the running last Friday.

This was another setback for Obama after his first choice withdrew in January because he faced a tough confirmation struggle in Congress.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (pictured) was selected early as Obama formed his administration.

Is the outspoken Napolitano the main reason for the difficulty in finding a TSA chief? She is the one who said “the system worked” after the Nigerian underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner over Detroit.

Perhaps when candidates learn that their main job will have far more to do with unions like the SEIU than with national security, they tend to shy away from the job.

Senator Jim DeMint pointed out in January, the nomination of Erroll Southers as TSA chief was intended to usher in collective bargaining for screeners.

Link here and here.