Weird News

Zaaphod · Postby **Zaaphod** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:13 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (GhostWay @ Feb 12 2005, 10:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Well, I can imagine there's quite a market for this: <a href='http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic ... TES-DC.XML' target='_blank'>Date From Hell: Rescue</a>  </td></tr></table>  Heh. Happy Valentine's Day. <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

Ruedii-X · Postby **Ruedii-X** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:15 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (GhostWay @ Feb 13 2005, 01:25 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Well, I can imagine there's quite a market for this: <a href='http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic ... TES-DC.XML' target='_blank'>Date From Hell: Rescue</a>  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> CANBERRA (Reuters) - It's every single person's nightmare: You're on a date, it's a disaster but there's no way out. With Valentine's Day looming, a mobile phone company in Australia has come to the rescue with a service offering an escape from the date from hell. All you have to do is discreetly dial three numbers and then hang up without saying a word. "Virgin Mobile will call them back a minute later with a perfect excuse to get them out of there. We'll even talk them through what to say," the company, a joint venture of the Virgin Group and Optus, said in a statement. A survey of 402 people by Virgin Mobile found that 53 percent arrange in advance to have a friend call them mid-date to check they are all right or if they need an excuse to get out. The results showed women were twice as likely as men to use the tactic. </td></tr></table>   </td></tr></table>  I always wondered why that happened half way through most dates. I'm just kidding. I don't go on many dates. (As in virtually none.)

IHateUsernames · Postby **IHateUsernames** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:20 pm

Whats this "date" thing I keep hearing about?

Muninn · Postby **Muninn** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:11 pm

A date is a sweet, edible, oblong or oval fruit of the date palm, containing a narrow, hard seed.

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 1:00 am

You know you've always wondered . . .  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Feb 14, 10:04 AM EST Study: Lobsters Unlikely to Feel Pain By CLARKE CANFIELD Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A new study out of Norway concludes that it's unlikely lobsters feel pain, stirring up a long-simmering debate over whether Maine's most valuable seafood suffers when it's being cooked. Animal activists for years have claimed that lobsters feel excruciating agony when they are cooked, and that dropping one in a pot of boiling water is tantamount to torture. The study, which was funded by the Norwegian government and written by a scientist at the University of Oslo, suggests that lobsters and other invertebrates probably don't suffer even if lobsters do tend to thrash in boiling water. "Lobsters and crabs have some capacity of learning, but it is unlikely that they can feel pain," the study concluded. The 39-page report was aimed at determining if invertebrates should be subject to animal welfare legislation as Norway revises its animal welfare law. The report looked at invertebrate groups such as insects, crustaceans, worms and mollusks and summarized the scientific literature dealing with feelings and pain among those creatures without backbones. It concluded that most invertebrates - including lobsters, crabs, worms, snails, slugs and clams - probably don't have the capacity to feel pain. Lobster biologists in Maine have maintained for years that the lobster's primitive nervous system and underdeveloped brain are similar to that of an insect. While lobsters react to different stimuli, such as boiling water, the reactions are escape mechanisms, not a conscious response or an indication of pain, they say. The Norwegian report backs up a study in the early 1990s at the University of Maine and reinforces what people in the lobster industry have always contended, said Bob Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute, a research and education organization in Orono. "We've maintained all along that the lobster doesn't have the ability to process pain," Bayer said. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Va., has made lobster pain part of its Fish Empathy Project, putting out stickers and pamphlets with slogans like, "Being Boiled Hurts. Let Lobsters Live." PETA regularly demonstrates at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, and 10 years ago placed a full-page ad in a Rockland newspaper featuring an open letter from actress Mary Tyler Moore urging festival-goers to forego lobster. "If we had to drop live pigs or chickens into scalding water, chances are that few of us would eat them. Why should it be any different for lobsters?" the ad read. PETA's Karin Robertson called the Norwegian study biased, saying the government doesn't want to hurt the country's fishing industry. "This is exactly like the tobacco industry claiming that smoking doesn't cause cancer," she said. Robertson said many scientists believe lobsters do indeed feel pain. For instance, a zoologist with The Humane Society of the United States made a written declaration that lobsters can feel pain after a chef dismembered and sauteed a live lobster to prepare a Lobster Fra Diavolo dish on NBC's "Today" show in 1994. But Mike Loughlin, who studied the boiling of lobsters when he was a University of Maine graduate student, said lobsters simply lack the brain capacity to feel pain. "It's a semantic thing: No brain, no pain," said Loughlin, who now works as a biologist at the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission. It's debatable whether the debate will ever be resolved. The Norwegian study, even while saying it's unlikely that crustaceans feel pain, also cautioned that more research is needed because there is a scarcity of scientific knowledge on the subject. Whether lobsters feel pain or not, many consumers will always hesitate at placing lobsters in boiling pots of water. New Englanders may feel comfortable cooking their lobsters, but people outside the region often feel uneasy about boiling a live creature, said Kristen Millar, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council. "Consumers don't generally greet and meet an animal before they eat it," she said. --- On the Net: Lobster Institute: www.lobsterinstitute.org People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: www.peta.org 2005 The Associated Press.</td></tr></table>

Richard K Niner · Postby **Richard K Niner** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:24 pm

You learn something new everyday...

Muninn · Postby **Muninn** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:06 am

That made me think of Randy from Faux Pas, Richard.

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:18 am

Balloons are evil, aren't they?  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Feb 15, 5:16 PM EST Valentine Balloon Blamed for Power Outage MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) -- A Valentine's Day balloon caused an electrical outage affecting more than 2,100 homes and businesses, power company officials said. The outage occurred Sunday night when a heart-shaped metallic Mylar balloon drifted into an electrical substation, said Phil Miller, the general manager of Mishawaka Utilities. "It said 'I Love You' on it," he said. "It looks like someone didn't hold onto their Valentine's gift tightly enough." Miller said the balloon, trailing a wet string, drifted into the substation near the University Park mall in the city just east of South Bend. The string caused a short circuit in a bank of capacitors, which are components that store electrical charges within the city's power transmission network. "(The balloon) didn't look too pretty when we pulled it out of there," Miller said. Power was restored to most customers within an hour, he said. --- Information from: South Bend Tribune, <a href='http://www.southbendtribune.com' target='_blank'>http://www.southbendtribune.com</a> 2005 The Associated Press</td></tr></table>

Henohenomoheji · Postby **Henohenomoheji** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:51 pm

When balloons fall in love with capacitors... ...It is useless to be a resistor. heehee oh my that one was bad <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

GhostWay · Postby **GhostWay** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:18 pm

They're not evil. Just full of hot air.

Ruedii-X · Postby **Ruedii-X** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:39 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: (GhostWay @ Feb 16 2005, 08:18 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Just full of hot air.  </td></tr></table>  Just like me!

GhostWay · Postby **GhostWay** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:52 pm

Not really "weird" news. <a href='http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/camb ... artcontent' target='_blank'>Serial burglar caught on webcam</a>  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Stills of serial raider Benjamin Park, 19, of Cambridge, were sent to an email address so even when he stole the computer, the images could be found. Police said it was a "brilliant idea" of software engineer Duncan Grisby, who set it after a previous burglary. Park was given an 11-month jail term by magistrates in Cambridge on Tuesday after admitting burglary. "I was burgled three years ago and was annoyed at the time because I had thought about setting this system up then, but hadn't got around to it," said Mr Grisby. "I was relieved it did what I'd intended it to when I was burgled again. It was nice to catch him in the act - but it didn't stop him from stealing my things. "The burglary was a real violation of my private space but at least he got caught. "I just wish he'd got a longer sentence." Mr Grisby said the system was easy to set up. "There are lot of products for Windows that you can use to do this - though I used some free software and wrote some extra software myself." Police described Mr Grisby's idea as "absolutely brilliant". "The webcam was set up in his computer and began filming once it registered motion. It captured every movement Park made," said Det Sgt Alan page, head of Cambridgeshire Police Burglary Squad. "At one point he stared into the computer as if it might be making a noise or something to make him suspicious. "He then stole the computer but it didn't matter because Mr Grisby had set it up so that as it was recording it was sending the images to an email address. "When the break-in was discovered Mr Grisby simply gave us the email address and we were able to watch several minutes of footage and say, `That's Ben Park'. "Mr Grisby is an extremely bright man. He'd set this up because he'd been burgled some years ago and the quality was superb. "It was better than a burglar alarm and when Park initially denied breaking in to the property we were simply able to show him the footage." Magistrates heard Park, who has more than 13 previous convictions for theft, had stolen computer equipment and other property with a value of nearly 4,000 from Mr Grisby's study. He committed the offence in February while on bail after being charged with an attempted burglary in Ely, Cambridgeshire, in August. "The webcam made our job really easy," added DS Page. "It was a pleasure to show him the pictures and see his expression when we interviewed him." </td></tr></table>

Ruedii-X · Postby **Ruedii-X** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:35 pm

He-He, poor stupid criminal.

VisibilityMissing · Postby **VisibilityMissing** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:30 am

I wonder what would have happened if he'd actually appeared in court naked?  <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'>Quote: </td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> Feb 17, 6:51 PM EST New Zealand Man Arrives Naked to Court WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- An environmental protester facing indecent exposure charges arrived at Auckland's District Court naked - but dressed before he entered the courtroom Thursday. Computer technician Simon Oosterman, 24, was charged during the Auckland Naked Bike Ride last Sunday, an event he organized to protest society's dependence on the car. When Oosterman was stopped by police during the naked bike ride, other protest riders covered the lower parts of their bodies to avoid arrest. Oosterman and three supporters - two men and a woman - stood outside the courthouse naked on Thursday holding a banner reading: "Stop indecent exposure to vehicle emissions." He then went inside and headed up the escalator, still naked, toward the courtroom. But he donned his clothes before entering court, where he pleaded not guilty and was released to reappear on March 21. Outside court Oosterman said he would fight the charge as public nudity was "different from indecent exposure." "The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the issue of transport emissions," he said. "There has to be a distinction between people flashing (nude bodies at) young girls and public nudity, which is benign," he added. Oosterman said he decided to dress before entering the court room because he didn't want to risk being charged with contempt of court. A senior sergeant of police who saw the defendant travel naked up the escalator "told me he was grateful I got dressed at the top," Oosterman said. 2005 The Associated Press.</td></tr></table>

Burning Sheep Productions · Postby **Burning Sheep Productions** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 5:19 am

I'm not sure but I think there's a special day in Melbourne where everyone gathers there naked, like a massive crowd and just stands there being naked probably having a chat, whatever, I'm not really sure...

Define Cynical Fan Forums

Weird News

Who is online