Too Many Donkeys in Hawaii

On By A.P.In Donkey, DroughtLeave a comment

 

In an effort to control the wild donkey population on Hawaii Big’s Island, about 100 of them are being flown to California next month.   

Drought conditions have led the donkeys from the highlands into a populated area in search of water. Donkeys were appearing near the highway and a school.

The Humane Society and a local veterinarian have been trapping and sterilizing animals from the rapidly growing population estimated at about 400 to 600 donkeys.

At the end of the month, a clinic is to be set up at a ranch to castrate captured male donkeys.

Siphoning Gas With an Electric Leaf Blower

On By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

Joseph P. Williamson, 31, found the gas lid of the 1997 Saturn belonging to his girlfriend, Sommer M. Brocuglio, 34,open and became concerned the vehicle had been tampered with.  So, he decided to check the gas tank for sugar by siphoning gas with an electric leaf blower.

A spark from the blower ignited a fire and Williamson suffered serious burns.

http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/2011/july/283240/Deputies:-Man-burned-while-siphoning-gas-with-leaf-blower

Solar explosions in the next few days could influence Earth

On By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is keeping an eye on a set of solar storms and explosions that could disrupt satellite, telecommunications and electric equipment here on Earth in the next few days.

While activity had reportedly returned to somewhat normal levels when solar winds calmed Monday morning, another explosion Tuesday was three times larger than the February 15 flare, which, until now, was the most significant flare of this solar cycle.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is reporting that the most recent flare, the third in the past three days, “will likely generate bright auroras as far south as Pennsylvania and could possibly upset electronic equipment, especially in space.”

The real forecast worth taking a look at, however, is the one for 2013, when solar activity levels are expected to peak with the next “solar maximum” within the 11-year activity cycle. Electric and magnetic interference from solar storms blasting electrically charged particles into the Earth’s magnetic field can cause major interferences on earth. Already this year, there have been reports of lost high-frequency radio communication with aircraft near the Arctic, along flight paths where pilots depend on such communication for flight safety and guidance.

Pilots and commercial aircraft are not the only ones at risk, either. NOAA cautions that many systems humans use every day are vulnerable to changes in space weather, including GPS applications in mobile phones and in cars, power grids and military satellites.

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/09/solar-explosions-could-impact-earth/?hpt=hp_t2

Drunk Man Caught Head-First in Street Drain

On By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

Jared Medeiros was drunk when he wedged himself in an 18-inch storm drain. Neighbors heard the 21-year-old man as he began to yell for help while kicking his legs in the air. He was only visible from the knees down.

Medeiros had spent 40 minutes stuck in the storm drain, but he was conscious when emergency crews arrived. He was having trouble breathing and only minor injuries.

He told officers he was trying to retrieve some personal items that had fallen into the drain. The officers found his keys, cell phone and cash in the drain.

Ice Island The Size of Manhatten

On By A.P.In NatureLeave a comment

A Manhattan-sized chunk of ice that broke off a glacier in Greenland nearly a year ago is drifting toward the coast of Newfoundland, Canada — providing a stunning sight to scientists and curiosity-seekers but also posing a potential threat to ships.

The ice island is 20 square miles — roughly 6.2 miles long and 3.1 miles wide. It was formed when a 97-square-mile chunk of ice broke off Greenland’s Petermann Glacier on Aug. 5, 2010, possibly due to warming of the Atlantic Ocean.

The ice island, the largest single chunk remaining from the massive parent chunk, has been winding its way through Arctic waters ever since.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43848004/ns/us_news-environment/

“Extra Sugar” at Dunkin’ Donuts

On By A.P.In CrimeLeave a comment

In an operation known as “extra sugar,” police in Rockaway Township, New Jersey investigated and subsequently arrested a Dunkin’ Donuts employee for prostitution. Melissa Redmond, 29, worked the night shift at the Double D.

The investigation began from an anonymous tip to police that people could go to the Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 46 and arrange a liaison with Ms. Redmond. Detective Kyle Schwarzmann, stated, “She was a night time employee [working 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.], supposedly a very good one.’’

Police commenced surveillance of the scene. It was a popular assignment, because it gave police a rare opportunity to eat donuts while ON duty.

They observed that Ms. Redmond would take breaks, go out to men’s cars, and spend 10-15 minutes in the vehicle. That’s a latte time.

They overheard words like “Big ‘N Toasty,” “Stuffed Breadsticks” and “Glazed Cake Stick.”

Finally, a policeman posing as a “John” approached Ms. Redmond. They discussed sugary treats, and she may have suggested the Guayaba Burst Donut. She was arrested just a short time later for soliciting sex from an undercover officer, and for failing to alert him that for just a dollar more, he could get a full dozen.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/dunkin-donuts-extra-sugar-for-sex-code-cracked-by-nj-police

Facial Recognition Technology Now Readily Accessible

On By A.P.In Facial RecognitionLeave a comment

Imagine being able to sit down in a bar, snap a few photos of people and quickly learn who they are, who their friends are, where they live, what kind of music they like … even predict their Social Security number. 

Now, imagine you could visit one of those anonymous online dating sites and quickly identify nearly every person there, just from their photos, despite efforts to keep their online romance search a secret.

Such technology is so creepy that it was developed, and withheld, by Google — the one initiative that Google deemed too dangerous to release to the world, according to former CEO Eric Schmidt.

Too late, says Carnegie Mellon University researcher Alessandro Acquisti. 

“That genie is already out of the bottle,” he said Thursday, shortly before a presentation at the annual Las Vegas Black Hat hackers’ convention that’s sure to trouble online daters, bar hoppers and anyone who ever walks down the street.

Using off-the-shelf facial recognition software and simple Internet data mining techniques, Acquisti says he’s proven that most people can now be identified simply through a photograph of their face — and anyone can do the sleuthing. In other words, our faces have become our identities, and there little hope of remaining anonymous in a world where billions of photographs are taken and posted online every month.

http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/04/7254996-your-face-and-the-web-can-tell-everything-about-you

Beware of Free Yogurt Samples at the Grocery Store

On By A.P.In CrimeLeave a comment

 

 

A 28 year old New Mexico woman was grocery shopping last January when Garcia, who worked in the store’s dairy department, approached her with a yogurt sample.

After ingesting a spoonful of the free sample, the woman immediately thought it tasted “gross and disgusting” and said, “it tasted like ‘semen.’”

In her handwritten statement, the woman said, “I spit it out on the floor many times cuz I was upset.” The woman recalled that when she talked to the store manager Catherine Flores, “she told me was a Greek yoghurt. People love it has lot of protein on it.”

Read her handwritten statement here:  http://straightfromthea.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/777yogurtsample.jpg

The woman paid for her groceries and returned home, where she told her boyfriend about the incident. She told him how Garcia had “just come with one sample just for me,” and that “he was so pushy to tell me how taste it.” The woman and her boyfriend took her suspicions (and what was left of the yogurt sample) to the New Mexico police department, who ran tests on the sample.

When police arrived at Sunflower Farmers Market to investigate the January 25th incident, they arrested Garcia on the spot after determining he was the subject of two outstanding warrants connected to a 2009 bust for criminal sexual contact with a minor.

Read more: http://straightfromthea.com/2011/02/09/semen-laced-yogurt-sample/#ixzz1Te4ChXm3