Oddities and Humor

That dog has more nerve than me, for sure.

Yeah, I read a story about that. Really a sad business.

Astronomers Find Largest, Oldest Mass of Water in Universe


Astronomers have discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a gigantic, 12-billion-year-old cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth's oceans combined.
The cloud of water vapor surrounds a supermassive black hole called a quasar located 12 billion light-years from Earth. The discovery shows that water has been prevalent in the universe for nearly its entire existence, researchers said.

"Because the light we are seeing left this quasar more than 12 billion years ago, we are seeing water that was present only some 1.6 billion years after the beginning of the universe," said study co-author Alberto Bolatto, of the University of Maryland, in a statement. "This discovery pushes the detection of water one billion years closer to the Big Bang than any previous find."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/astronomers-largest-oldest-mass-water-universe-200503717.html

Down in Louisiana, Reverend Boudreaux was the part-time pastor

of the local Cajun Baptist Church, and Pastor Thibodaux was the minister

of the Covenant Church across the road.

They were both standing by the road pounding a sign into the ground that read:

"Da End Is Near
Turn Yo Self 'Roun' Now
Afore It Be Too Late!"

As a car sped past them, the driver leaned out his window and yelled, "RELIGIOUS NUTS!!!!"

From the curve they heard screeching tires, followed by a big splash...

Boudreaux turned to Thibodaux and asked,

"Do ya think maybe da sign should jus' say, 'Bridge Out'?"

Paco, the wonder chihuahua, thwarts robbery (Video)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/paco-the-wonder-chihuahua-thwarts-robbery-video/2011/07/19/gIQAQ0UfNI_blog.html

I saw that video yesterday. Thanks for bringing it here. Puts me in mind of a Cajun I once knew. He was trying to nail down a business deal, with me as a partner. I knew him, phonetically, as Pay-co. When he asked me to write down the agreement, I struggled with the spelling, then settled for "Paco." He grew exasperated because I did not know it to be "Pecos."

There's nothing dainty about the new Snow White. Although Snow White and the Huntsman hasn't begun filming just yet, fans at the movie's Comic-Con panel were treated to a first look at the new take on the classic fairy tale. Kristen Stewart stars as Snow White, and based on the photos, she's looking strong and fierce. Her outfit and armor were designed by Oscar winner Colleen Atwood.

I like to say that I'm related in some way to the very talented and deservedly honored Colleen Atwood (shared namesake et al) but I doubt I hold the luck of such association.

Two tragic incidents that couldn’t appear more different. In one, a boy just 6 years old succumbs to injuries sustained after a tumble down the stairs. In the other, a gorgeous medical technician is found hanging from a balcony, totally nude, her hands and feet bound.

The link between them: The incidents occurred within days of each other—at the same palatial estate.

Now San Diego police are trying to piece together exactly what happened over the last week in the sprawling $7 million Spreckels mansion, the former home of sugar baron and philanthropist John D. Spreckels, onetime owner of The San Diego Union and San Diego Tribune.

Today, the home is owned by 54-year-old Jonah Shacknai, a wealthy pharmaceutical executive who amassed his fortune making acne treatments and Dysport, a competitor of Botox. Last year, Shacknai’s Scottsdale, Arizona–based company, Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., earned $123 million. His 27-room estate is located in tony Coronado, a seaside town near San Diego known for its naval bases, high-end restaurants, and pristine beaches.

And now, for two very mysterious deaths. The first incident occurred on July 11, when Shacknai’s 6-year-old son, Max, was fatally injured in an apparent tumble down a set of stairs inside the 103-year-old mansion. He never recovered and died of his injuries in the hospital a week later. Then, just two days after Max’s fall, Shacknai’s beautiful 32-year-old girlfriend, Rebecca Nalepa, was found hanging from the mansion’s second-floor balcony. She was naked and tied up.

Now police are trying to figure out whether Nalepa committed suicide or if something more nefarious is at play.

"Now police are trying to figure out whether Nalepa committed suicide or if something more nefarious is at play."

WTF...???

hands and feet bound. naked.

maybe suicide...?

firkin wealthy people...

She still had her germs to do the dirty work.

That's exactly what I was thinking when I read the story!

The Greenwich Mountain Lion Was Really From South Dakota
7/27/11 at 09:59 AM
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/07/the_greenwich_mountain_lion_wa.html?mid=375804&rid=422483811

The celebrity news being reported today is that the host of Jeopardy, Alex Trebek, was injured chasing a burglar running from his hotel room.

It occurred to me that it would be a much different story if the "burglar" turned out to be a hooker who ran off with his wallet.

I'll take career ending celebrity rumors for a thousand, alex...

Been wondering why she was let in myself.

Poor Alex, wandel. Another oddity



SEBASTIAN INLET — To "Patton," the lobster-sniffing pooch, crime stinks.

He hopped aboard a small boat Wednesday, metal badge dangling from his neck. Nose to the deck, Patton sniffed something familiar near the bow. He scratched, tail wagging, at his find -- a spiny lobster.

This one was a tail in a cooler that his handler, Florida wildlife Officer Tim Miller, uses for training.

On Wednesday, the 6-year-old German shorthaired pointer helped officers patrol Sebastian Inlet for the yearly two-day spiny lobster sport season, which continues today.

Thousands statewide dive during the special two-day "mini-season," which gives recreational lobster lovers first dibs at the delicacy before commercial harvesters begin the regular-season hunt from Aug. 6 to March 31.

Thanks, letty. Working animals are really neat.

There's a picture at the link.