In the news...

[Ming]

I check News of the WeirdTM every once in while...
And some people are just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO stupid...

People Who Should Have Left Well-Enough Alone
In April, sex offender Barry Whaley was under suspicion for failing to register his new address but made things much worse. Being questioned at a police station in Fairbanks, Alaska, he asked an officer to retrieve a laptop computer from his car so that it would not get stolen, and when the officer brought it to him, Whaley mentioned an "amazing" flight simulator program he had been using, which the officer asked to see. As Whaley powered up the computer, a video of child pornography appeared, and Whaley was arrested. [Anchorage Daily News, 4-8-09]

In April, police in Copley Township, Ohio, were called to a restaurant where Erik Salmons, 39, was allegedly intoxicated and annoying customers. Officers declined to arrest him but did insist that he call someone for a ride home, and Salmons complied. However, at home, Salmons decided that he was insulted at being thought of as intoxicated and so drove himself to the police station and demanded a breathalyzer test, which of course he failed, and he was arrested. [Akron Beacon Journal, 4-7-09]

Any other good "real" stories out there...

[Guynemer]

I heard some weird **** went down on some computer-game related bulletin boards recently... if only there were someone who had been on the inside who could explain it.

[SlowwHand]

I like to read Oddly Enough from Reuters.

Sleeping and eating - who does it best?

Reuters – Workers prepare food in a restaurant offering sandwiches for one euro in Paris April 23, 2009. REUTERS/Thomas …

By Sophie Hardach – Mon May 4, 1:03 pm ET

PARIS (Reuters) – True to their reputation as leisure-loving gourmets, the French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world's wealthy nations, according to a study published Monday.

The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean, who sleep the least in a survey of 18 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Despite their siesta habit, Spaniards rank only third in the poll after Americans, who sleep more than 8.5 hours.

And while more and more French people grab a bite at fast-food chains these days or wolf down a sandwich at their desk, they still spend more than two hours a day eating.

That means their meals are twice as long as those of the average Mexican, who dedicates just over an hour a day to food, the OECD's "Society at a Glance" report on work, health and leisure in Asia, Europe and North and South America found.

The Japanese, scrimping on sleep and burdened with long commutes and working hours, still manage to spend close to two hours a day eating and drinking, placing them third behind New Zealanders.

The Japanese like to spend what remains of their scarce free time watching television or listening to the radio. This takes up 47 percent of leisure time in Japan.

Turks, on the other hand, spend more than a third of their leisure time entertaining friends.

The survey showed that the split between work and leisure time within certain countries is striking.

"Italian men have nearly 80 minutes a day of leisure more than women. Much of the additional work of Italian women is apparently spent cleaning the house," the OECD said in a statement.

The OECD has 30 members. The survey covers only the countries for which appropriate figures were available.

[Asher]

The real news tonight, Ming, is available in your other OT thread.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Newsoftheweird.com is good.

BBC's science and tech news article are reliably interesting too. I have a modest example here:

Male 'contraceptive jab' closer

A male contraceptive jab could be as effective at preventing pregnancies as the female pill or condoms, work shows.

The monthly testosterone injection works by temporarily blocking sperm production and could revolutionise birth control, experts believe.

In trials in China only one man in 100 fathered a child while on the injections, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports.

Six months after stopping the jabs the men's sperm counts returned to normal.

Family planning campaigners welcomed the news and said they hoped an injection would give couples more choice and enable men to take a greater share of the responsibility for contraception.
“ At the moment the onus is on the woman and men do not have that much choice ”
Fertility expert Mr Laurence Shaw

But experts said more trials were needed to check the safety of the jab.

Previous attempts to develop an effective and convenient male contraceptive have encountered problems over reliability and side effects, such as mood swings and a lowered sex drive.

Despite the injection having no serious side effects, almost a third of the 1,045 men in the two-and-a-half year trial did not complete it and no reason was given for this.

More choice

Lead researcher Dr Yi-Qun Gu, from the National Research Institute for Family Planning in Beijing, China, said: "For couples who cannot, or prefer not to use only female-orientated contraception, options have been limited to vasectomy, condom and withdrawal.

"Our study shows a male hormonal contraceptive regimen may be a potential, novel and workable alternative."

He said if further tests proved successful the treatment could become widely available in five years from now.

Mr Laurence Shaw, of the London Bridge Fertility Centre and the British Fertility Society, said: "If a male contraceptive like this became available it would be great and would give people another choice.

"It would empower men to make a decision which involves more than just a condom. At the moment the onus is on the woman and men do not have that much choice.

"But we have been here before with testosterone as a method of contraception. We need more rigorous safety testing."

He said in trials, the female Pill was still more effective as a contraceptive than the new jab, but that in real life they might be comparable because it is easier to forget to take a pill.

A spokeswoman from Marie Stopes International said: "This is a very positive step forward. The more range of contraceptives there are, the better.

"But if this does become available men should still remember that it will not protect them against sexually transmitted infections and they should still use a condom."

Rebecca Findlay of the Family Planning Association said: "In the past fpa has asked men if they would use hormonal contraception, and a third gave a definite yes they would.

"More research is needed to make sure that any new method is safe and effective, but men will welcome the continued search to give them more control over their fertility and sexual health."
Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8033218.stm

Published: 2009/05/05 09:02:35 GMT

© BBC MMIX

[Japher]

Shadow Hare is the one on the Left.

Caped superhero vows to clean up crime in Cincinnati

The mysterious masked man is only 5ft 7 ins and weighs about 10 stone but is armed with handcuffs, a Taser and pepper spray, which can be legally carried in the city.

It is known that he is 21 and comes from Milford, a town in Ohio. He claims to have been abused as a child and grew up in a succession of foster homes.
"My message to Cincinnati is that there is still hope and all we have to do is stand together," he said.

He and other members of a group called the Allegiance of Heroes have pledged to make citizens' arrests and intervene in crimes.

Predictably, the local police are not taking the Allegiance too seriously, even after four members were recently filmed helping the homeless around the city.

Evidence of Shadow Hare's anti-crime efforts have yet to surface although he said he dislocated his shoulder while trying to help a woman who was being attacked two years ago.

He said he is currently working with a San Diego-based superhero called Mr Extreme to "track down a rapist". Other members include Wall Creeper from Colorado and Aclyptico from Pennsylvania.

Shadow Hare is by no means the first American citizen to take to extremes the country's fascination with comic book superheroes.

Others also dress up in the regulation tights and underwear worn over outwear, but their do-gooding activities rarely extend to actual crime-fighting.

A group called Superheroes Anonymous includes Red Justice, a New York teacher who encourages young people to give up their subway seats to others, a litter-collecting woman in white cape and yellow gloves called The Cleanser, and The Super, who rescues victims of bad plumbing wearing green tights and a red cape.

Shadow Hare has written on his MySpace blog – all superheroes have a blog – that "criminals and corrupt people will run out of places to hide" now that his group has formed.

Shadow Hare is my Hero! (I work in Milford, OH)

[Alinestra Covelia]

"10 stone"?

My guess is a Brit wrote that article.

It would be about 140 lbs. in US-talk, or maybe 63 kg in rest-of-world-speak.

[Winston]

he said he dislocated his shoulder while trying to help a woman

Superheros aren't what they used to be.

[Japher]

It's amazing at how much local press Shadow Hare is getting.

[Wiglaf]

Asher I am filing a lawsuit against one "David Milfinford" for psychological distress or, as a fallback option, two less sexy counts of copyright infringement and trademark raping due to your avatar's stratospheric level of inappropriateness and decorum breachery. Have your people call my people and you may be able to settle for however much it costs me pay off the ex girlfriend who is blackmailing me up the ass.

[Guynemer]

[Asher]

Asher I am filing a lawsuit against one "David Milfinford" for psychological distress or, as a fallback option, two less sexy counts of copyright infringement and trademark raping due to your avatar's stratospheric level of inappropriateness and decorum breachery. Have your people call my people and you may be able to settle for however much it costs me pay off the ex girlfriend who is blackmailing me up the ass.

Give me your bank account number and full name and I'll wire you some cash, as soon as I get it back from that fellow I loaned it to in Nigeria.

[Wiglaf]

I have been to Nigeria many times on business and I find your stereotypes almost as offensive as your avatar. Perhaps you should join a wine tasting club to disabuse you of your angry disposition. All in all, I expect you will pay $200k in damages, 80% of it to Apple, 10% to the woman so senselessly mauled by that panda, and 10% to me for being a good citizen and reporting your online debauchery. Good day sir.

[Winston]

Asher, stop talking to yourself.

You'll never get anywhere.

[Asher]

I have been to Nigeria many times on business and I find your stereotypes almost as offensive as your avatar. Perhaps you should join a wine tasting club to disabuse you of your angry disposition. All in all, I expect you will pay $200k in damages, 80% of it to Apple, 10% to the woman so senselessly mauled by that panda, and 10% to me for being a good citizen and reporting your online debauchery. Good day sir.

You edited this post since I last saw it. I'm going to pull a LOTM and insist you hacked the database. You also viewed my PMs.

I am countersuing and firing felony charges on breaking and entering, for breaking my heart and entering my *******.