Lightning strike kills 52 cows.

From the Houston Chronicle:

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Lightning struck only once — but 52 cows are dead at an Uruguayan ranch.

The newspaper El Pais reports that the cows had pressed against a wire fence during a storm when the lightning bolt struck in the northern state of San Jose.

A photograph released by the San Jose Police Department shows the black and brown cows lying dead in a long row.

The newspaper said Friday that veterinarians at the scene confirmed the cause of the deaths, which happened Wednesday. The veterinarians told the newspaper that cows often crowd around fences to seek protection during storms.

Meteorologist Fernando Torena told the newspaper he wasn't surprised that a single lightning bolt killed so many cows. But he called it "very bad luck."

Woman caught at airport with three bananas in undies.

This is one talented lady. From News.com.au:

BANANAS in pyjamas may be OK, but in undies they are not - as a woman discovered at Sydney Airport.

Customs officers stopped the 56-year-old from the Czech Republic when she arrived from Samoa on Wednesday.

Suspecting she was concealing something on her body, a female officer frisked her and found she was concealing three banana plants in her underpants.

Quarantine officers seized the plants, which Customs say are a threat to Australia's banana industry because they can carry black sigatoka disease, fusarium wilt, or moko disease.

Panama: Day 8: Adios!

Back to Panama City for one last night. We did more sightseeing and said goodbye to my new favorite isthmus.

Panama: Days 6 - 7: El Valle de Anton.

We flew back to Panama City, then took a 3-hour bus ride to El Valle de Anton - an elevated valley surrounded by cloud forest.



The area was a welcoming cool relief from the blistering sauna of our first few days. Anton Valley is perfectly pleasant, cloudy, and dreamlike.



But of course we trudged through more rainforests, and I finally saw a toucan! I named him Dr. Irwin "Doc" Beekman.





On our second night there, we had dinner at a fancy villa. This toad basked in the romance.



These cute kiskadees were everywhere. Tweets McMullen said goodbye to us.

Panama: Day 5: Still in Bocas del Toro

The night before, I had some crazy tropical fever during a thunderstorm and spent the night sweating, shivering, vomiting, and other nasty stuff while the walls of our room shook in the torrential downpour. It was pretty awesome. You can't experience the tropics without feverish delusions during rainstorms and horrible parasites causing gastrointestinal trauma.

Although I didn't think I'd survive the night, the next morning meant more adventures. We took a boat to Dolphin Bay, where we spotted Flipper; snorkeled above a coral reef; rowed through a mangrove forest; visited another indigenous village; hiked through a marsh so muddy, it was like quicksand (I almost lost my shoe twice); snorkeled some more; and finally ended up baking out at Red Frog Beach, a beautiful private beach that supposedly allows topless bathing (boobies!).



Snorty McFlippersons.



Mangroves are creepy.





The marsh jungle was too dark for pictures, but red dart frogs were everywhere. A couple of pics came out.

Panama: Day 4: Bocas del Toro

The next day, we took a water taxi to an island with a huge banana plantation. Just by driving through the island you can see every step in the process of banana cultivation, processing, and packaging. (The amount of insecticide being sprayed was somewhat alarming.)

From this island, we took a motorized canoe up the Changuinola River and went on an adventure. We docked at various islands, popping in and out of rainforests. At one excursion, we almost cut the trip short by nearly stepping on a sleeping boa constrictor. We also traversed rapids by foot (quite slippery and probably not a good idea), and visited an indigenous village where the children presented us with a Tiger Dance. Some pics!



Canoein' around.



Walking across this wasn't fun.







These kids were cute but their Tiger Dance was crap.

Panama: Day 3: Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is the northwest region of Panama, comprised of a wooded mainland bordering Costa Rica and a series of (I think) a bazillion islands.

From Panama City, we flew into Bocas in one of those small propeller planes held together by duct tape and prayer. We stayed in Bocas Town - a dusty town on the south side of Isla Colon lined by waterfront hostels, hotels, restaurants, and bars, and vibrant with an Afro-Caribbean culture. It's a haven for off-the-beaten-path travelers, people sick of Costa Rica, and pirates. Well, maybe not pirates, but with its hot, dusty days, and loud, raucous nights, not to mention the many islands in which to hide and strike, it doesn't take much to imagine Bocas Town as a one-time home base for ruffians, rakes, and other grog swillers. Yar.

On the first day, we took a boat to a beach area called Boca del Drago where tiny fish swam around our legs. We then took a boat to Bird Island - an amazing island inhabited by only birds and crabs. It's a massive breeding colony for various shore birds and it looked like something out of The Lost World. A tropical island with hundreds of giant birds flying around it is easy to imagine, but it was an impressive sight.







Brown boobies. *giggle*



Two big brown boobies. *snicker*



Don't you wanna just squeeze these boobies? *guffaw*



Another cool place was Starfish Beach. As the name suggests, starfish proliferate all down the beach, making wading through the water a colorful experience.

Memories selectively, safely erased from mice.

From the Medical College of Georgia:

New and old memories have been selectively and safely removed from mice by scientists.

"While memories are great teachers and obviously crucial for survival and adaptation, selectively removing incapacitating memories, such as traumatic war memories or an unwanted fear, could help many people live better lives," says Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, brain scientist and co-director of the Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

"Our work reveals a molecular mechanism of how that can be done quickly and without doing damage to brain cells," says the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Cognitive and Systems Neurobiology.

Dr. Tsien's research team, in collaboration with scientists at East China Normal University in Shanghai, were able to eliminate new and old memories alike by over-expressing a protein critical to brain cell communication just as the memory was recalled, according to research featured on the cover of the Oct. 23 issue of Neuron.

Scientists store and retrieve data inside an atom.

I hope this leads to an iPod they can just shoot into my bloodstream. From the Berkeley Lab:

BERKELEY, CA - Another step towards quantum computing – the Holy Grail of data processing and storage – was achieved when an international team of scientists that included researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) were able to successfully store and retrieve information using the nucleus of an atom.

In a paper entitled: “Solid-state quantum memory using the 31P nuclear spin,” published in the October 23 issue of the journal Nature, the team described an experiment in which exceptionally pure and isotopically controlled crystals of silicon were precisely doped with phosphorus atoms. Quantum information was processed in phosphorus electrons, transferred to phosphorus nuclei, then subsequently transferred back to the electrons. This is the first demonstration that a single atomic nucleus can serve as quantum computational memory.

Coozer-Bits.

The Independent: Stolen Shakespeare volume returned to university.

LiveScience: The stink in farts controls blood pressure.

EurekAlert: Cold virus found to manipulate genes.

Medical College of Georgia: Green tea may prevent or delay Type 1 diabetes.

Xinhuanet: BBC apologizes to Filipinos for offending show.

Xinhuanet: Obama and McCain win cat show.

MongaBay: Frog-killing disease jumps through the Panama Canal. (Thanks Jen!)

John McCain's brother calls 911 over traffic, curses out operator.

Priceless. From Raw Story:

Early this week, Sen. John McCain's brother Joe, while in Alexandria, VA, called 911 because he was irritated with traffic. When the operator asked him if he was really calling the emergency line to complain about highway conditions, Joe McCain responded, "F--k you" and hung up.

According to WJLA Newschannel 8 in Alexandria, the operator dialed the caller back. Shockingly enough, Joe McCain's voicemail answered.

Audio of the call plays out as such:

Operator: "911, state your emergency."

Caller: "It's not an emergency but, do you know why on one side at the damn drawbridge of 95 traffic is stopped for 15 minutes and yet traffic's coming the other way?"

Operator: "Sir, are you calling 911 to complain about traffic?"

Caller: "F--k you."

When the emergency operator called back, she was greeted with, "Hi this is Joe McCain. I can't take this message now because I'm involved in a very (inaudible) important political project... I hope on Nov. 4th we have elected John."

Bloomberg allowed to run for third term.

I like Bloomberg and wouldn't mind a third term, but the precedent is scary, especially when you remember who preceded Mike. From NY1.

After a month-long debate that has rocked New York City politics, the City Council on Thursday afternoon passed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial bill to extend term limits, clearing the way for the mayor to run for a third term in office next year.

The historic measure passed by a vote of 29-22 following seven hours of pitched debate among the 51 members.

When the final tally was read, a crowd of protesters in the council chambers called out in opposition.

The formal vote got underway shortly after 4 p.m. after an amendment calling for a voter referendum was defeated by the council.

Russia freezes student loans during economic crisis.

Sucks. From Moscow Times:

Hundreds of the country's brightest students fear possible expulsion from their universities for failing to pay tuition fees after their student loans were frozen amid the financial crisis.

Well under 1 percent of the country's 7 million students receive financial aid, an infant industry in Russia, but they represent a large percentage of the nation's up-and-coming talent, with many enrolled in top universities.

At risk are students with loans from a program called Kredo, which is underwritten by the company Krein and has been offered through Soyuz Bank since 2003.

The loans are offered to students at 21 prestigious state institutions, including Moscow State University. A total of 4,400 students have received the loans, of which 3,500 are currently students, according to figures from Kredo.

78,000 pounds of frozen chicken block CA freeway.

Free chicken! w00t!

An overturned big rig carrying 78,000 pounds of frozen chicken blocked a portion of the 210 Freeway in Claremont this morning, highway officials said.

A traffic collision involving the big rig and another vehicle was reported at about 2:30 a.m., said Officer Francisco Villalobos of the California Highway Patrol.

The carpool lane is closed east of Indian Hill Boulevard on the westbound side of the 210 Freeway, Villalobos said.

The frozen chicken must be removed before the trailer can be moved, he said.

Woman arrested for digitally killing virtual husband.

Remember the good ol' days when people would murder each other in real life? From IHT:

TOKYO: A 43-year-old player in a virtual game world became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona, the police said.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in the northern city of Sapporo said Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman, a piano teacher, had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison or a fine up to $5,000.

Palin's makeup artist is McCain's highest paid staffer.

I hate to hear how much she's spent on shoes. Women be buying too many shoes, amirite?? From Huffington Post:

If Palin's $150,000 shopping spree had Republicans disgusted, then the report that her makeup stylist cost $22,800 for the first two weeks of October should have them livid. The stylist, Amy Strozzi, was apparently paid more than any other McCain staffer during that period.

Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance?", was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi's payment as "PERSONNEL SVC/EQUIPMENT."

Missouri 6th graders celebrate Hit A Jew Day.

The most shocking part of the story... there are at least 35 Jews in Missouri? From My Way News:

ST. LOUIS (AP) - At least four students from a suburban St. Louis middle school face punishment for allegedly hitting Jewish classmates during what they called "Hit a Jew Day."

The incident happened last week at Parkway West Middle School in Chesterfield.

District officials said Thursday they believe that fewer than 10 children of the district's 35 Jewish students were struck.

District spokesman Paul Tandy said that in most cases, the students were hit on the back of their shoulders but one student was slapped in the face.

It began with an unofficial "Spirit Week" among sixth-graders that started harmlessly enough with a "Hug a Friend Day." Then there was "High Five Day."

Soon, though, the days moved from friendly to silly. Next there was "Hit a Tall Person Day" and, finally, "Hit a Jew Day."

Nazi graveyard discovered deep in the Amazon.

Wacky! From the Daily Mail:

A graveyard of former Nazis bent on creating a 'foreign Fatherland' in the Amazonian rainforests from which to spread Hitler's maniacal beliefs has been discovered in Brazil.

The relics betray a madcap plan back in the 1930s to create a master race thousands of miles from Germany.

The graveyard and other ruins that fanatical Nazis left behind are chronicled in a new book.

Entitled ’The Guayana-Projekt. A German Adventure on the Amazon’ it says die-hard Nazis believed they were destined to settle the world like pioneers of the wild west in America.

Reception for students at museum turns into drunken debauchery.

I hate stupid college kids. From the Chicago Tribune:

A party last month at the Field Museum for new students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University turned into a drunken affair to remember—for some, at least.

In its wildest retelling, students threw things at Sue, the museum's famous dinosaur fossil, though a museum spokeswoman denies that Sue was the target of drunken debauchery.

No matter what happened, the wild party, which about 700 people attended, has become an embarrassment for Kellogg.

News of the party leaked Thursday on a financial gossip Web site called Dealbreaker, which posted an e-mail from a Kellogg student leader sent last week to all students lecturing them about proper conduct.

[...] She confirmed that an admonishing e-mail was sent to partygoers in which some of the alleged activity, including the Sue incident, was described, including:

•"Students were vomiting on themselves and on the Field Museum floors."

•"Students were spitting at people."

•"Students passed out in high-traffic areas."

Museum spokeswoman Nancy O'Shea said neither the museum nor any exhibits were damaged during the party.

Engineer lets teen run commuter train.

Not the most interesting news item ever, but I found it amusing. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Metra engineer has been suspended for allegedly allowing an 18-year-old train enthusiast to operate the controls of a commuter train.

"Obviously this is unacceptable. This is a serious matter," said Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Three engineers are accused of allowing an "unauthorized person" into the cab of a locomotive, and one of the three is accused of allowing that same person to operate the controls, Flatau said.

Judy Pardonnet, spokeswoman for the commuter rail service, said three engineers have been suspended and face disciplinary action.

PSA: Free tacos for all thanks to base stealer!

From Consumerist:

A base was stolen last night in Game 1 of the World Series (yes, it seems that they do still bother to televise baseball after the Red Sox are eliminated,) meaning that everyone in America is eligible to receive a free taco. You have the Tampa Bay Rays and shortstop Jason Bartlett to thank this year. Be sure to send him a note.

Much to our delight, the Curiously Australian President of Taco Bell, Greg Creed, was on hand to make the announcement. We love Greg Creed. He's so... curiously Australian.

To get your free beef crunch taco, go to any participating Taco Bell from 2pm to 6pm on October 28th. Oh, and if you were wondering (as we were) if the base had to be officially stolen in order to qualify for tacos — it did. There were to be no free tacos awarded for defensive indifference.

w00t! Free taco!

No takers for abstinence contest.

Can I get $10,000 if I'm not having marital sex? From Breitbart:

ATLANTA (AP) - A contest that would pay $10,000 to an engaged couple, as long as they abstain from premarital sex, hasn't gotten any takers. The deadline for the Marriage for a Lifetime contest is Oct. 31. The prize includes free flowers, invitations and other wedding treats.

So far, organizer Phillippia Faust hasn't gotten any entries.

She said, "In our society it's going to be hard to find" a couple that hasn't had premarital sex.

Faust has orchestrated mock weddings and other pro-marriage activities through her Marriage Appreciation Training Uplifting Relationship Education program, a nonprofit that isn't church-affiliated. The program is implemented through Rockdale Medical Center.

The Smurfs celebrate their 50th Smurfday.

50?? Get the smurf out of here! From BBC:

The Smurfs celebrate their 50th birthday this week with a feature-length movie and new television series in the making. But what makes the blue goblin-like creatures so popular?

It doesn't sound like the most promising of creative pitches - the adventures of a cartoon tribe of bright blue elves from Belgium who lived in mushroom houses in the Middle Ages. But that, in a nugget, is what the Smurfs are about. And half a century after they emerged, the Smurfs are still finding new fans.

[...] The Smurfs were the creation of cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo, and made their first appearance in a 1958 edition of Belgian comics magazine Le Journal de Spirou. From the start, it was a big cast list, with 101 different Smurfs - although just one was female.

They soon secured their own comic series, which ended up being translated in 25 different languages and is estimated to have sold 25 million copies worldwide.

But, unsurprisingly, it took American involvement - in the shape of a Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon series - to catapult the Smurfs on to the global stage. In Britain, at least, they were pushing at an open door. Sandwiched between Police 5 and reruns of Happy Days on ITV during Sunday lunch times, there was little else on TV to hold the attention of anyone under 35 years old.

The series recounted the adventures of Papa Smurf and his fellow Smurfs as they try to survive the evil plots of the (human) wizard Gargamel. They lived in the aforementioned mushroom houses and, inexplicably, peppered their conversation with the word "smurf". Their favourite snack was the plant sarsaparilla.

Parents using sniffer dogs in their kids' bedrooms.

I feel bad for any teenager with a parent that would do this. From BBC:

Retired sniffer dogs that have spent years on police patrol are now working in the private sector in the US - sniffing out teenagers' bedrooms.

Parents can rent a dog and handler for $200 (£125) an hour from Sniff Dogs, a firm operating in New Jersey and Ohio.

The dogs are highly trained and can detect illegal drugs.

The company says the animals can smell marijuana from up to 15 feet away (5m) and residue on clothing from drugs smoked two days earlier.

Los Angeles: Days 1 - 5

I sat in a conference room for 14 hours a day while staring out at the Santa Monica pier and the beautiful Pacific Ocean beyond.

I left my hotel once, and that was to pick up some Marmite in the little British district near 3rd Street Promenade. I only had 15 minutes.

Why is it that conferences are always held in places where the last thing you want to do is sit indoors all day? I propose all meetings be held in Lubbock.

Ironically, on the flight home I sat next to a career counselor. I meant to ask her if it's a bad sign when a company tortures you by gluing you to a boring conference right next to the beach. Instead, I accidentally sneezed on her, and she turned away and pretended to sleep for the rest of the trip.

Thai prime minister flees from protestors, tossed bottles.

Your popularity's gotta be pretty low when people start throwing their shoes at you. From Breitbart:

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's prime minister was forced to flee one of his own government ministries Wednesday as protesters demanding his resignation taunted him, tossing sandals and plastic bottles at his entourage.

Security officials hustled Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat though a mob of 100-200 demonstrators a day after a Thai court convicted the country's former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, of violating a conflict of interest law when he was in office from 2001-2006.

Ousted by a 2006 military coup, Thaksin is reviled by protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy, who claim his administration was characterized by massive corruption and abuse of power.

The protesters regard Somchai, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law, as a mere puppet, and accuse him of trying to amend the constitution to help clear Thaksin, who fled to self-imposed exile in Britain before the court's decision.

Wednesday's confrontation started on the grounds of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, outside the headquarters of the state-owned telecom operator.

Pulling scotch tape creates X-rays.

This is wild. From Globe and Mail:

NEW YORK — Two weeks after a Nobel Prize highlighted theoretical work on subatomic particles, physicists are announcing a startling discovery about a much more familiar form of matter: Scotch tape.

It turns out that if you peel the popular adhesive tape off its roll in a vacuum chamber, it emits X-rays. The researchers even made an X-ray image of one of their fingers.

Who knew? Actually, more than 50 years ago, some Russian scientists reported evidence of X-rays from peeling sticky tape off glass. But the new work demonstrates that you can get a lot of X-rays, a study co-author says.

“We were very surprised,” Juan Escobar said. “The power you could get from just peeling tape was enormous.”

TV remote control explodes house.

From Fox News:

BILLINGS, Mo. — Authorities in southwest Missouri say a TV remote control probably triggered an explosion that destroyed a Christian County home.

The only person in the home at the time — 66-year-old Cindy Curry — was blown outside but had only minor injuries. Firefighters say it's amazing she survived at all.

Neighbors said they heard a huge boom when the blast occurred around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Curry's husband, Jerry, says he smelled propane gas in the 10-year-old house late Monday. But the smell was gone Tuesday morning, so he went out to have breakfast with friends.

His wife then turned on the TV — and Billings Fire Chief Henry Bos says it appears the remote control ignited propane still in the house.

The couple lost two of their dogs and a bird.

Palin goes on $150,000 shopping spree.

But she looks fabulous! From HuffingtonPost:

Since her selection as John McCain's running mate, the Republican National Committee spent more than $150,000 on clothing and make-up for Gov. Sarah Palin, her husband, and even her infant son, it was reported on Tuesday evening.

That entertaining scoop -- which came by way of Politico -- sent almost immediate reverberations through the presidential race. A statement from McCain headquarters released hours after the article bemoaned the triviality of the whole affair.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

But even the most timid of Democrats are unlikely to heed this call for civility. For starters, the story has the potential to dampen enthusiasm among GOP activists and donors at a critical point in the presidential race. It also creates a huge PR headache for the McCain ticket as it seeks to make inroads among voters worried about the current economic crisis.

Mainly, however, Democrats (in this scenario) are not prone to forgiveness. After all, it was during this same campaign cycle that Republicans belittled the $400 haircut that former Sen. John Edwards had paid for with his own campaign money (the funds were later reimbursed). And yet, the comparison to that once-dominant news story is hardly close: if Edwards had gotten one of his legendary haircuts every singe week, it would still take him 7.2 years to spend what Palin has spent. Palin has received the equivalent of $2,500 in clothes per day from places such as Saks Fifth Avenue (where RNC expenditures totaled nearly $50,000) and Neiman Marcus (where the governor had a $75,000 spree).

Palin ordered travel expense reports to be doctored.

And why shouldn't Twig, Squiggy, Willow, and Frodo join their mother for a trip on the state's dime? From Newsweek:

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

British buses question the existence of God.

Ironically, I meet people on buses all the time who claim to be God. From BBC:

Bendy-buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London.

The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins.

The BHA planned only to raise £5,500, which was to be matched by Professor Dawkins, but it has now raised more than £36,000 of its own accord.

It aims to have two sets of 30 buses carrying the signs for four weeks.

The complete slogan reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

As the campaign has raised more than anticipated, it will also have posters on the inside of buses as well.

The BHA is also considering extending the campaign to cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Human heads sent to Mexico police.

From BBC News:

The severed heads of four men have been delivered by a courier service to a police station in northern Mexico, according to the local authorities.

The heads, all of men believed aged between 25-35, arrived last week in an icebox marked as containing vaccines.

Police thought the package was meant for a local hospital - they only opened it on Monday, revealing the four heads.

Police are investigating if the heads belong to any of the 10 local people who were kidnapped last week by gunmen.

The gruesome delivery was made in the town of Ascension, not far from Ciudad Juarez, close to the US border.

Ciudad Juarez has a reputation as one of Mexico's most violent cities, with more than a quarter of the country's 3,800 drugs-related murders reported to have taken place there since the start of the year.

The authorities have discounted reports that one of the heads may have been of a police commander who was kidnapped on 18 May this year.

Philanthropist pledges $75 million toward animal condoms.

From the Chronicle of Philanthropy:

Gary Michelson, a California surgeon who invented spinal implants and who started the Found Animals Foundation, has pledged more than $50-million to support research into pet contraceptives and has promised to give $25-million to anyone who can come up with a workable contraceptive for dogs and cats, The Wall Street Journal reports on a blog. Forbes magazine pegged Mr. Michelson’s fortune at $1.5-billion.

Violinist uses gun, bodyguards to protect violin.

This would make an awesome Vin Diesel movie. From Ananova:

A concert violinist has been given a gun permit so he can protect his £6million Stradivarius violin.

Matteo Fedeli, 36, travels all round Italy with his rare instrument and has been given police permission to protect it with a a 357 Smith and Wesson Magnum.

He said he also has a team of bodyguards wherever he goes with the instrument who plan his route meticulously and make sure he is not followed. And he also has an armed escort as he travels to his concerts.

"Thankfully I've never had to use my gun - but a 357 Magnum is certainly a useful deterrent," he said.

"I did once have a concert though where the crowd started to get a bit close to me and the violin and my bodyguards quickly made a human barrier around me.

"Anyone would tried to steal a rare instrument would be a bit silly though because they have satellite alarms built in and it's not as if they could just go and sell it at an auction without being noticed anyway."

Zombie Watch: Doctors get tips on making sure bodies are dead.

It's a sad day when the world's doctors need help distinguishing the dead from the undead. From the BBC:

Doctors are being given tips to help them diagnose when someone is dead.

Although a patient coming back from the dead is rare, there is enough ambiguity in diagnosing death that doctors need guidance, experts have decided.

Rapid advances in life support, where machines take over the breathing of the moribund, have complicated the diagnosis, for example.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges' UK guidelines cover situations like hypothermia and drug-induced coma.

Back from the dead

There have been instances when people exposed to extreme cold have been presumed dead but have later shown signs of life again when their core body temperature has risen again.

Sedative drugs can also make a person appear to be dead when they are not.

Zombie Watch: Man creating army of bloodsuckers.

His blase attitude will destroy us all. From the NY Times:

Mr. Sorkin pushed up his shirt sleeve and pressed the mesh end of the jar against the inside of his right arm. Roused to a frenzy by the twin cues of heat and carbon dioxide that “in evolution equal host,” said Mr. Sorkin, the insects scrambled toward the lid, thrust out their stylets and began to feed. For a good 10 minutes, Mr. Sorkin sat there with the proud placidity of a donor at a blood bank. He did not budge. He held the jar. He let the bedbugs bite.

“I can hardly feel it,” he said matter-of-factly, “and they do need to eat.”

Mr. Sorkin and his bedbugs are featured in the newly published “Dark Banquet,” a jaunty, instructive and charmingly graphic look at nature’s born phlebotomists — creatures from wildly different twigs of the phylogenetic tree that all happen to share a fondness for blood.

Coozer-Bits.

Alternet: The 10 dirtiest election tricks against Obama so far.

BBC: Nebraska decides allowing parents to safely abandon teenage children not a good thing.

BBC: Bee Gees' music can save your life.

Breitbart: Iowa couple ordered apart after woman bites fiance.

LA Times: Women not able to level up in the video game industry.

The Guardian: Exotic animals seized in Mexican drug raid.

NY Times: Tap water safer than bottled water.

FOX News: LittleBigPlanet pulled for music offensive to Sunnis.

Man nabbed with frozen shrimp down his pants.

I hope I don't get arrested for the shrimp in MY pants. From Breitbart:

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - Authorities said a man tried to steal several bags of frozen shrimp from a supermarket by hiding them down his pants. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office reported that an off-duty detective was shopping at a Sweetbay supermarket Sunday when he noticed what appeared to be a man with groceries stuffed in his pants.

The detective approached the 32-year-old man and ordered him to stop. Authorities said the man then removed several bags of shrimp from his pants and promised to put them back.

When the man fled for the store's exit, the detective tackled and restrained him until patrol deputies arrived.

The man was charged with shoplifting, battery on an officer and resisting arrest. He was being held on $2,600 bail.

Republicans admit illegal attempt to use foreclosure lists to deny voters.

This is pretty dirty. EmptyWheel's got the scoop.

Junk food diet causes heart attacks.

Shocking! From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Diets heavy in fried foods, salty snacks and meat account for about 35 percent of heart attacks globally, researchers reported on Monday.

Their study of 52 countries showed that people who ate a "Western" diet based on meat, eggs and junk food were more likely to have heart attacks, while those who ate more fruits and vegetables had a lower risk.

The study supports previous findings that show junk food and animal fats can cause heart disease, and especially heart attacks.

Entire beach stolen in Jamaica.

From BBC News:

Police in Jamaica are investigating the suspected theft of hundreds of tons of sand from a beach on the island's north coast.

It was discovered in July that 500 truck-loads had been removed outside a planned resort at Coral Spring beach.

Detectives say people in the tourism sector could be suspects, because a good beach is seen as a valuable asset to hotels on the Caribbean island.

Plane engines found with damaged, missing parts.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON – After finding several passenger aircraft engines with damaged and missing parts, safety officials on Thursday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to order inspections of similar engines, particularly those long in service.

The PW2037 engines currently are in use in 725 Boeing 757 jetliners, according to Pratt & Whitney, their manufacturer.

The National Transportation Safety Board, in a letter to the FAA seeking the inspections, cited concerns that pieces of the engine could penetrate fuel tanks, causing a leak and fire.

"Information gathered to date has raised serious concerns that warrant immediate action by the FAA," the safety board wrote Robert Sturgell, the FAA's acting administrator.

FYI.

The Panama travelogue will be continued in a few days. In LA now for meetings and away from my pics. But I'll post some news during boring parts of the meeting! w00t!