Oddities and Humor

we had deviled eggs today at the picnic.

I didn't taste any salmon...

The guy on TV said the best thing is to have the eggs hard boiled. I prefer mine fried - not runny, though.

Wo - I received this message just now:

I'm writing this message to you with sadness. I traveled to London for a short vacation and unfortunately for me, I was mugged at a knife point last night at the park of the hotel where i lodged and all cash, credit cards and cell phone were all taken away.

I have reported the robbery to the police but they are yet to find the muggers. My flight leaves in less than 18hrs from now and i am having problems paying my hotel bills.

The hotel manager won't let me leave until i settle the bills. Please, I need a loan from you to return back home and i want you to get back to me if you can help.

Carmen

What do you think I should do?

I don't know any Carmens.

Do you know any Carmen outside the Bizet opera? I know I don't.

Something's fishy. Didn't this bloke already give the hotel his credit card as he checked in?

Something's rotten in London I say. Or is this a phishing scam from East Europe?

Everyone in my family got a message similar to this a few weeks ago. It informed us that my mother was being held hostage in London and would be freed for a few thousand pounds.
Thankfully, my mom was five minutes not five thousand miles away. She got some awfully funny messages from the relatives across the pond.
Apparently, some hacker in Israel was able to hack into her hotmail account.
I wouldn't send the money. Just saying.

That's one of the reasons they invented Consulates.

Maybe it was Dlowan?
Look ummm... send the money to me I'll make sure she gets it.

Yeah. If you have an email address, you have gotten similar pitches, guaranteed. I was having fun with this one, because it is the first one I recall getting, in which they ask for a loan. Usually, they are promising millions before asking for money.

http://www.louisaburton.com/fictioncraft/manuscriptformat.html
Is this how you would format your novel?

Well, Texas, this isn't exactly erotic, but...

The world's tallest and shortest men.



The humor part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7aDstrDMf0

Hey, Cake. They ain't girls

I fit somewhere in between. Possibly on the short end, at 5' 9 1/2"
The song about long skirts and short jackets is a oddly neat.

http://www.louisaburton.com/fictioncraft/manuscriptformat.html
Why play with fire when the act of typing a single character could protect your entire document.

As the article points out, you own the material, with or without that notice. Random House is not in the business of stealing material, so, I personally would dispense with the notice when dealing with them.

It is my understanding that the copyright exists whether the notice is present or not. A publishing house would be amply aware of this. It is necessary to register the copyright only if you want to sue.

Perhaps someone with a legal background could give us a more official explanation? The last time I consulted a copyright attorney was 15 years ago, so my info may be out of date.

I once researched this regarding a bit of software I was creating.

Copyright does exist the moment you create the work. If you distributed the work without the copyright symbol, however, it limits your legal remedy to actual damages. With the copyright symbol, you can get actual damages and punitive damages.

It depends on where and how your work is presented, if you need the symbol or not, in my view. The only time I would skip it is if dealing with a well established publishing house.

EL PASO — Fernando Espinosa always thought of his Boy Scout experience as a way to learn about leadership and helping others.

But he never expected his 10 years of scouting to help him become a hero.

On Jan. 22, without thinking twice, Espinosa pushed teacher Glenda Tanner, 47, out of the way of a car at a crosswalk in front of Franklin High School. The car struck Espinosa, who received a head injury from the windshield and hurt his left knee.

"It was complete instinct because it was just so quick," he said. "I think all of the experiences I've had helped me. I remember after being hit, checking on Mrs. Tanner and telling myself to just breathe and stay calm."

For his bravery, Espinosa, 17, will be awarded the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms on Friday at the Centennial Scouting Alumni Dinner.

The Tomball City Council late Tuesday defeated a proposal to make English the city's official language and voted down another measure seeking to prohibit illegal immigrants from renting or owning property or owning or operating a business there.

The council also voted to keep the city's day laborer site open and operating, despite vociferous protests from some in the audience.

And officials delayed taking action on a proposal to award city contracts strictly to companies and subcontractors that hire and use only legal U.S. citizens as employees.

Most council members agreed that making English the city's official language was an unnecessary move that would not enhance Tomball's image or interests. And most of the city's elected officials appeared leery of the idea seeking to limit undocumented immigrants' property rights, noting it could bring an avalanche of lawsuits challenging its constitutionality, which could cost the city millions.

"I'd sure hate to take our people down that route," said City Councilman Rick Brown. "It's lawsuit after lawsuit."

Councilman Preston Dodson agreed, saying such a move could have "huge constitutionality issues."

All of the controversial measures, which drew both strong support and heated opposition from citizens and activists Tuesday night, were proposed by first-term Tomball City Councilman Derek Townsend Sr. His move to place the items on Tuesday's agenda was seconded by Councilman Mark Stoll, who said he did not support the proposals but wanted to give Townsend a venue for discussion.

Residents representing several Texas Tea Party groups recently requested the day laborer site be shut down because they said it provides shelter and access to employment for illegal immigrants, which they argued is against the law. Some critics have called Tomball a "sanctuary city" because of the site's operation. But City Attorney Scott Bounds said he has researched the issue and found that allowing the site to operate does not violate federal law.

Wonder if they would allow these kind of aliens, edgar.



William Shatner Believes in Aliens
By Jaclyn Gallucci on September 6th, 2010

Aliens? Yes, please! William Shatner aka Captain Kirk of Star Trek says of course aliens exist. There is “no doubt.”

But while the 79-year-old actor says there has to be some kind of life out there in the universe he wonders why no extra-terrestrials have gone public here on Earth yet.

“There is no doubt that there is life out there,” Shatner tells the Montreal Gazette. “The mathematics of it lead you to that absolute conclusion. In my mind, there is no doubt that the universe teems – teems! – with life in all its forms. But why they would come visit here and not let themselves be known to everybody is beyond my sense of logic.”


Shatner is currently staring in a new television series called “William Shatner’s Weird or What?” It’s a show that investigates aliens, of course, and strange UFO sightings and abductions.

“Why would you fly the years or millenniums (it would take) to (get here)?” Shatner continues. “Why wouldn’t they just land and say, ‘Here we are, we’re tired, got any ice cream?”.