HARRISBURG, Pa. - An ancient weapon that struck fear in the hearts of Spanish conquistadors, and that some think was used to slay wooly mammoths in Florida, may soon be added to the arsenal of Pennsylvania's hunters.
The state Game Commission is currently drafting proposed regulations to allow hunters to use the atlatl, a small wooden device used to propel a six-foot dart as fast as 80 mph. The commission could vote to legalize its use as early as January.
It's unclear which animals atlatlists may be allowed to hunt, but the proposal is being pushed by people who want to kill deer with a handmade weapon of Stone Age design. The name, usually pronounced AT-lad-ul, is derived from an Aztec word for "throwing board."
"For me, it would be a thrill to have a deer get up close enough and to throw my dart and hit the deer, bag it like my ancestors did," said Jack Rowe, 45, a veteran hunter and atlatl enthusiast from Sayre.
In Alabama, one of a handful of states that currently allow the use of atlatls for hunting or fishing, few hunters use them during deer season, said Allan Andress, the chief fish and game enforcement officer for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Even spear hunters — Alabama game law also allows spears — outnumber those using atlatls.
"As you might imagine, it's not something that most people have the skill or the patience for," Andress said.
Pennsylvania Atlatl Association president Gary L. Fogelman, who got the atlatl bug about 20 years ago, said he doubts that large numbers of deer will ever be killed with the weapon.
"You've got to know what you're doing, you've got to be good with all the outdoor skills in order to be able to score with this thing," said Fogelman, of Turbotville, publisher of Indian Artifact Magazine.
To use an atlatl, throwers hook arrowlike hunting darts into the end of the atlatl, which is generally a wooden piece about 2 feet long. The leverage of the atlatl allows them to throw the 5- to 8-foot darts much farther than they could throw a spear.
At BPS Engineering in Manhattan, Mont., a leading manufacturer of atlatls, sales have averaged about 450 in recent years, said owner Bob Perkins. Customers pay $140 for his company's 2-foot maple production-line model, the Warrior, along with a set of five 5 1/2-foot aluminum darts.
Perkins has killed two deer with atlatls and, a couple weeks ago, got his first buffalo.
"Atlatls were the first true weapon system developed by the human race," he said. "They were used longer than any other weapon. Comparatively speaking, the bow and arrow was a recent development in projectile technology."
There is evidence that the weapons were used more than 8,000 years ago in Pennsylvania, said Kurt Carr, an archaeologist with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Prehistoric atlatls have a distinctive counterweight feature called a winged banner stone that has helped confirm their existence at digs in Huntingdon and Bucks counties, among other places, said Carr. Atlatl use goes back far as 12,000 years elsewhere in North America and far longer in Europe.
"It takes some practice, but it's like the bow and arrow. I can't shoot a bow and arrow for beans, but I can use an atlatl more effectively," he said.
The World Atlatl Association, which has 380 members, has held an annual accuracy contest since the mid-1990s, and this year more than 2,000 people participated.
"People that are interested in archaeology and ancient history are the ones that seem to be drawn to it," said association president Richard B. Lyons, a retired firefighter from Jeffersonville, Ind.
Game Commissioner Roxane Palone, who generally supports legalization of atlatl hunting, said there are other game commissioners who probably will join her to vote for it.
"It's a good way to expand hunting opportunities," she said. "I don't think it's any more unusual than people who use long bows to hunt."
If the commission gives preliminary approval in January, a final vote in April could clear the way for atlatl hunting in Pennsylvania late next year, Palone said.
___
11/13/2005
Pa. May Let Hunters Use Prehistoric Weapon
Briton claims to have beaten HIV virus
I have personally know alot of people that have died from AIDS, and if by some chance this is a cure then that would be great...:if this is true it makes me feel like crying , and for those of you close to me you know why...( no I don't have AIDS or HIV)just some very special people are gone now and a cure would mean alot to me.
LONDON (Reuters) - A British man claimed on Sunday to be the first person to become clear of the HIV virus, which can lead to AIDS, after earlier testing positive for it.
If true, the case of 25-year-old Andrew Stimpson -- reported in two British newspapers -- could reveal more about the virus and possibly even provide a breakthrough in the search for a cure for HIV/AIDS.
A spokeswoman for Chelsea and Westminster Heathcare Trust in London confirmed that one of its patients had tested negative for HIV about 14 months after testing positive in May 2002.
"He did test positive and then later negative, but in terms of curing himself, we don't know because he hasn't been back for further tests," said the spokeswoman.
"We very much want him to return so we can try to find out what exactly has happened," she added.
There is no known cure for HIV/AIDS, responsible for the deaths of millions of people and especially virulent in parts of Africa. Some experts say there are nearly 35 million sufferers around the world.
Scientists cite anecdotal accounts from Africa of people shaking off HIV but say they have never seen firm evidence.
"I feel truly special and lucky," Stimpson, who is a sandwich maker, told the News of the World. "All the doctors have told me it is a medial miracle that I am clear."
Patrick Dixon, a doctor and HIV expert, told Sky News this was the first time someone had kicked the virus out of their body.
"(AIDS) is a hugely significant problem which at moment we have no cure for," said Dixon.
"It's just possible inside this man's body is a biological key. If we can find an antibody that he's produced that has enabled him to kick this virus out, we could in theory find a way of engineering that antibody and giving it as some sort of treatment," he said.
The hospital spokeswoman said subsequent DNA checks had proven there had been no mix-up in the identity of the patient and the HIV tests, but said she did not know whether there could have been any other error in the original test.
Cardboard Box Added to Toy Hall of Fame
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Forget the fancy toy: The box it comes in can be much more fun. Spaceship, castle, haven to daydream in, the cardboard box was enshrined Friday in the National Toy Hall of Fame along with Jack-in-the-Box and Candy Land.
No kidding, grown-ups.
"I think every adult has had that disillusioning experience of picking what they think is a wonderful toy for a child, and then finding the kid playing with the box," said Christopher Bensch, chief curator of the Strong Museum. "It's that empty box full of possibilities that the kids can sense and the adults don't always see."
Low-tech and unpretentious it may be, but the cardboard box has fostered learning and creativity for multiple generations — a key qualifier for inclusion in the museum's seven-year-old hall of fame. And its appeal as a plaything or recreational backdrop is universal.
All over the world, "packaging is something that's accessible to kids, whether that's cans or tins or wooden crates," Bensch said, and the cardboard box "makes a point that you don't have to spend a lot, have a certain income level or charge it on your credit card to have your kids have a great play experience."
The museum, which boasts the world's largest collection of toys and dolls, acquired the hall in 2002 from A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in Salem, Ore.
So far, 34 classic toys have been enshrined, from Barbie to Mr. Potato Head, Legos to Lincoln Logs, Slinky to Play-Doh and Crayola crayons to marbles.
Candy Land, a board game decorated with a sweet-treats trail and destinations such as Gumdrop Mountain, was created in the 1940s by a San Diego polio victim, Eleanor Abbott, who wanted a pastime for children recuperating from illness.
Jack-in-the-Box, the jester who bursts open his box lid when a compressed spring is released, appears to have originated in the 16th century. The toy is loosely based on Punch, the dynamic puppet in the "Punch and Judy" show.
The corrugated cardboard box, which quickly came to dominate the shipping industry in North America, was invented by a Brooklyn printer, Robert Gair, in 1890.
Strong Museum, the second-largest children's museum in America, is aiming to wrap up a $33 million expansion next summer that could double its attendance to nearly 700,000 visitors a year. The 23-year-old museum contains more than 70,000 toys and dolls and features circus memorabilia, children's books, household furniture, miniatures and various objects of American culture dating from the 1820s.
___
Cat Show Plans Memorial Service for Dog
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - This will probably be the first time a dog's memorial service is attended by 300 cats. A schnauzer-Siberian husky mix named Ginny will be eulogized Nov. 19 at the Westchester Cat Show, where she was named Cat of the Year in 1998 for her uncanny skill and bravery in finding and rescuing endangered tabbies.
"It'll be right during the show, with the judging going on and all the cats out there on the floor," said Leslie Masson, a spokeswoman for the Westchester Feline Club, which sponsors the show. "We'll call for quiet, and then a few people will get up on stage and talk about Ginny. Her owner will be there and talk, if he's able to, and some people from her fan club."
Ginny died in August at age 17, after a long career as a one-dog rescue party for cats on Long Island's South Shore. The club says she saved hundreds of cats who were abandoned, injured or in harm's way.
Her owner, Philip Gonzalez of Long Beach, has written two books about Ginny and the cats she found, several of whom moved in with him. Among the best-known rescues is the time Ginny threw herself against a vertical pipe at a construction site to topple it and reveal the kittens trapped inside. She once ignored the cuts on her paws as she dug through a box full of broken glass to find an injured cat inside.
Gonzalez, 55, said Thursday that over the years he has tried to train other dogs to do what Ginny did, but "They just didn't have it."
"I didn't train her," he said. "Ginny was just magical in a way. I adopted her from a shelter, and they said she's never been with cats before. But she just had this knack of knowing when a cat was in trouble."
As he used to do with Ginny, Gonzalez still goes out every night to feed stray cats in the area, with the help of the Ginny Fund, which pays for food, medical care and spaying or neutering.
The cats seem to miss Ginny too, he said.
"They want nothing to do with my other dogs," he said. "They used to come up to Ginny and rub against her, even if I was putting food out."
The memorial service will be followed by this year's Cat of the Year award, which is going to an actual cat — Zoe, an 8-year-old ragdoll from Larchmont who saved her owner from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Other cats of the year have included a cat with a cleft palate who taught herself to hold her feeding tube and a cat who campaigns against rules that prohibit pets in senior housing.
Besides the memorial service, the Cat of the Year award and the best-of-breed judging, the show features a household pet competition, an agility contest for cats and a book signing by Allia Zobel, author of "101 Reasons Why a Cat is Better Than a Man."
In addition, about 80 cats from shelters will be up for adoption.
11/11/2005
Veterans Day
Growing up in Canada, I was taught about"remembrance Day, and the sacrifices that were made by Brave Men and Women, to keep us free...We were also Taught this poem and would recite it as a school in assembly....I'm sure some of you know this.
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem:
Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.
As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient.
It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:
"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."
One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.
The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.
In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.
A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."
When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:
"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."
In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.
Where in the WORLD is MATT LAUER
Day 4&5
Well I totally forgot to post this...
Day 4- ShangHai,China, and
Day5- Dubrovnik,Croatia...can you say WHeeeee....:sigh
11/10/2005
Declassified FBI Documents
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released a vast selection of previously classified documents relating to UFOs, their dealings with them, reports of 'Flying Discs' and other strange events. Because of the Freedom of Information Act, it is now possible to download these documents for free from the web and view them at your leisure on your computer.
The documents in question contain letters, reports, articles and correspondences, some of which are somewhat more difficult to read than others. The best way to view them is to simply download them to your computer.
In order to view these files, you will need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer.
Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader
Perspectives of war hit home in soldiers' stories
By Bob Minzesheimer, USA TODAY
Thu Nov 10, 7:26 AM ET
War stories are as old as The Iliad, Homer's epic poem about the Greek conquest of Troy more than 2,000 years ago. In honor of Veterans Day Friday, USA TODAY reviews five new books about war, told from the perspective of more recent soldiers.
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
By Colby Buzzell
Putnam, 358 pp., $25.95
At 26, tired of dead-end, slacker jobs, Colby Buzzell joined the Army.
A year later, he was in Iraq as a machine-gunner in Stryker Brigade, whose mission was "to locate, capture and kill all non-compliant forces" in and around Mosul.
He didn't think much of how the White House, Pentagon and media were reporting on the chaos and confusion of "guerrilla warfare, urban-style."
He started a blog, My War, named after a song by the punk band Black Flag.
It attracted a following, which grew after the Army's attempt to shut it down.
The book, like his blog, is cynical but not overtly political.
Buzzell never doubts he's on the side of the good guys, even as he questions whether anyone fully understands the reality of war.
Military recruiters won't be handing My War to prospective soldiers, who would do well to read one grunt's account of what they could be getting into.
For God and Country
By James Yee
PublicAffairs, 240 pp., $24
In 2001, James Yee, a West Point graduate, became one of the first Muslim chaplains in the U.S. Army.
He was later assigned to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where nearly 700 prisoners captured in the war on terrorism were held.
In 2003, he was arrested and jailed for 76 days in solitary confinement on charges of spying and aiding the enemy - charges the Pentagon, to its embarrassment, later dropped.
Yee's poignant account of what he describes as an attack on his faith and patriotism is disturbing even if it ultimately raises more questions than it answers.
Beyond the legal issues are questions about religious bias in the military.
Yee writes that Islam "affected nearly every aspect of life at Guantanamo," but the few attempts by U.S. soldiers to understand were discouraged.
He writes that one MP was ordered by superiors to "stop trying to learn Arabic. You're here to guard them, not talk to them."
Forever a Soldier
Edited by Tom Wiener
National Geographic, 337 pp., $26
In the past five years, more than 35,000 veterans, fresh from Iraq and as far back as World War I, have contributed their individual stories to the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project (www.loc .gov/vets).
Tom Wiener, the project's historian, has culled those archives for a representative sample of 37 interviews. It's an uneven collection, but the best live up to the book's subtitle, Unforgettable Stories of Wartime Service.
Wiener notes that every veteran in the book, except one, "survived his or her individual war. How they did so demonstrates the way we do rise above cruelty to a better place. It is perhaps the finest lesson any war can teach us."
Also out in paperback this week: an earlier collection from the archives: Voices of War: Stories of Service from the Home Front and the Front Lines (National Geographic, $16.95).
An Instinct for War
By Roger Spiller
Harvard, 403 pp., $29.95
Imagine a military historian who can travel in time to past and future wars.
That's what Roger Spiller, who taught at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., does in his imaginative collection of 13 short stories.
They stretch from ancient China to a 21st-century war "so terrible it was beyond naming."
Spiller is a former aide to the Army's chief of staff and a consultant to Ken Burns' forthcoming documentary on World War II.
He writes, "Some of this actually happened and some of it didn't, but all of it is as true as I can make it."
His mostly first-person stories deal with Cortez's conquest of the Aztecs, what Civil War Gen. George McClellan tried to borrow from Napoleon and an investigation of a Japanese general after World War II.
Spiller's stories can be read as parables. They neither celebrate nor condemn war but raise fundamental questions faced by soldiers and civilians.
Flying Through Midnight
By John T. Halliday
Scribner, 416 pp., $27.50
When President Nixon assured the country in 1970 that no U.S. soldiers were fighting in Laos, John Halliday was doing exactly that - flying what seemed like nightly suicide missions.
A naive 24-year-old Air Force lieutenant colonel, he entered a bizarre, secret world of special ops, flying creaky C-123 cargo planes in complete darkness, dropping flares to mark enemy targets.
His writing is often breathless, but so is the action he describes, including a dramatic landing on an unlighted airstrip to save his crew.
The book is as much about confronting the past as describing it.
A final chapter deals with Halliday's long struggle to get the book written and published.
A week before Halliday's father died in 1997, he took his son to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, which Halliday had avoided.
The father waved his arm at the 58,000 names on the wall and urged his son, "Write it for them."
He did.
'Lost' Loses Another Main Character
NEW YORK - It would seem to be lights out for Shannon on "Lost." The spoiled Daddy's girl was apparently killed off Wednesday night as the ABC thriller made good on its promise to eliminate one of its characters.
Hyped by the network as the episode that "people will be talking about all year long," it had indeed spurred lots of chatter even before it aired. Despite mighty efforts by the series' producers to keep secret the victim's identity beforehand, bloggers and other "Lost" sleuths seized on Shannon Rutherford weeks ago as the castaway most likely to be "lost forever."
Even so, the episode put forward another possible candidate: fellow refugee Sawyer ( Josh Holloway). Feverish and weakened from a bullet wound, he fell into unconsciousness during a grueling hike through the jungle interior.
It seemed he was a goner. Or just a red herring? At last sighting, he was being carried on a makeshift stretcher by others in his party. His condition seemed grave. "Lost" can be a tease.
But by all indications short of a death certificate, the bell tolled for Shannon. Pushing through the thick jungle growth in frantic pursuit of Walt ( Malcolm David Kelley), the vanished child whose image keeps haunting her, Shannon was mistaken for one of the demonic Others and shot by trigger-happy Ana Lucia ( Michelle Rodriguez).
Wounded and bloody, Shannon collapsed into the arms of Sayid ( Naveen Andrews), who had just professed his love for her — and told her that, by golly, he had seen Walt's vision, too.
It was just another day on the uncharted tropical island where Shannon and dozens more airline passengers crashed last fall — at the same time launching "Lost" into a hit.
Played by Maggie Grace, Shannon had been depicted as a sexy brat whose checkered past included seducing her stepbrother Boone Carlyle, a fellow island refugee until his death last season in a freak accident. Shannon was left reeling by that loss.
On Wednesday's episode, Boone (played by Ian Somerhalder) made a guest appearance in a flashback. He was seen comforting teenage Shannon upon the sudden death of her father, after which her stepmother rudely cut off her funds.
Then trust-fund Boone betrayed Shannon when he announced that Mom had offered him a well-paying job.
No wonder Shannon wrestled with abandonment issues.
"I know when we get out of here, you're just gonna leave me," she tearfully told Sayid moments before she was shot.
"I will never leave you," he said.
His devotion seemed to be a "Lost" cause.
Words from the Dark One
Poe's Theorem of Evolution:
"Medical science, technology, and 'civilization' have supplanted
natural selection such that now we have people in positions of
authority and/or responsibility who are so stupid that a mere two
hundred years ago they would have been eaten by something whilst on
their way to the outhouse."
Security Guard Fired for Seeing Ghosts
DES MOINES, Iowa - A judge ruled that a former security guard who was fired for seeing ghosts cannot be denied unemployment benefits.
According to a court ruling released this week, the former guard's allegation of apparitions does not constitute misconduct.
The issue started on Sept. 11, when Wade Gallegos alerted his supervisor at Neighborhood Patrol of Urbandale that ghosts were haunting a neighborhood he was guarding.
The supervisor arrived at the scene, where Gallegos showed him where the ghosts were still apparently standing.
The supervisor claimed he saw nothing and fired Gallegos five hours later.
The company found no signs of drug use or alcohol.
Neighborhood Patrol challenged Gallegos' application for unemployment benefits, arguing he was guilty of misconduct.
"Such beliefs do render the claimant unfit to act as a security guard," Judge G. Ken Renegar ruled. "The employer cannot have security guards who see ghosts and apparitions and inform the employer, and then the employer sends out the patrol cars."
However, the judge ruled, seeing ghosts is not the type of misconduct that can disqualify Gallegos from receiving benefits.
___
A Funny
Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband,
"I bet you don't know what day this is."
"Of course I do," he indignantly answered, going out the
door on his way to the office.
At 10 a.m., the doorbell rang, and when the woman opened
the door, she was handed a box containing a dozen long-stemmed
red roses. At 1 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two pound box of her
favorite chocolates arrived. Later, a boutique delivered
a designer dress. The woman couldn't wait for her husband
to come home. "First the flowers, then the candy, and then
the dress!" she exclaimed.
"I've never spent a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my whole life
11/09/2005
Gingerbread House Time of year:)
I made one last year and I'm going to make one this year, and it is going to be COOL.....
Of course it is for the children...NOT...
It must be perfect...
Go away Mummum's busy, no stop it ,
put that down it's for the windows, BUPPPP!!!
I bought a small kit to make the house it turned into a multi-day obsession..
But it was cool, I'll try to find the pic of it...
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire....
After having seen the commercial for this movie well over a dozen dozen times,
My Five year old has informed me that he wants Santa to give him this movie for Christmas...
Be cause it looks cool ,
and makes him happy ...
and makes his eyes dance??????
ROFLMAO
note to self: take Bup to the Eye Doctor.....?
Pandas 'Married'
BANGKOK, Thailand - Thousands of people in Thailand came to the wedding party Wednesday, but the nuptial bliss belonged to a pair of animals: the country's only two resident giant pandas.
As Chuang Chuang and his female partner, Lin Hui, have become adults and begin to mate, Thai officials decided it was time for the couple to make it official.
Thais dressed in panda and other animal costumes marched and played music in a traditional Thai wedding procession to northern Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo, where the pandas live.
The guests witnessed a Chinese tea ceremony and a feast of cake — a four-layer ice sculpture filled with fruits that pandas typically eat, said a zoo spokeswoman, Rossukhon Chuicomwong.
The pandas' living quarters were decorated with a large, festive red ribbon and a carved dragon decoration.
Thailand rented Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui from China for $250,000 in October 2003 for 10 years.
The pandas are expected to generate millions of dollars in revenues from Thai and foreign tourists during their stay.
Oak Island up for sale
It may look like a fixer-upper at first glance, but what is buried beneath scrubby little Oak Island might just make its estimated $7 million price tag worth the investment. Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, is famous for its Money Pit, a mystery that has endured two centuries, claimed six lives and swallowed up millions in life savings. The Pit was discovered in 1795 by a local boy named Daniel McGinnis who, spotting an unusual clearing in the earth under one of the island's oak trees, was prompted to start digging. The discovery of layered planks, mysterious stone slabs, and mats made of coconut fibers descending deep into the ground turned his casual afternoon dig into an all-out excavation. Investors and thrill-seekers would eventually jump in and continue the work, kicking off one of the world's longest running treasure hunts. What appears to be a complex flooding trap has thwarted efforts to reach the bottom of the Money Pit ever since.
Some think the pit was purposely flooded with seawater, via a series of artificial swamps and tunnels, to hide its contents. Through the murk, drill borings and shafts dug by the island's series of owners have detected what seem to be cement vaulting, wooden chests, and scraps of parchment paper. Radiocarbon dating of these artifacts is consistent: whoever constructed the shaft likely did so sometime in the 16th Century. Speculation about the contents of Oak Island's Money Pit range from the treasure of the Knight's Templar to Shakespeare's original manuscripts.
ASIAN DUMPLING SOUP
Ingredients:
1 (15- to 16-oz) package frozen Asian dumplings (also called pot stickers; about 20 to 24)
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (40 fl oz)
3 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (from 1 head)
2 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 cup shredded or matchstick (1/8-inch-thick) carrots (from a 10-oz bag)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cook dumplings in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling unsalted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. (Cut into a dumpling to check filling.) Remove pot from heat and keep dumplings warm in hot water.
While dumplings cook, bring chicken broth to a boil in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot. Add cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes, then add peas and cook 2 minutes. Stir in scallions, sesame oil, salt, and pepper and boil until all vegetables are tender, about 1 minute.
Divide dumplings among 4 soup bowls with a slotted spoon. Ladle soup over dumplings.
Makes 4 main-course servings.
Gourmet
Quick Kitchen
November 2005
Where in the WORLD is MATT LAUER day 3
Seems Matt is in INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA ,and was out on a wire with this one, no really , they had him on a contraption called a Flying Fox a bigger version than the one pictured...he was hanging out in space,, pretty funny...then they had two Franz's Here to Pump You Up!...Classic! they did the comedy bit and everthing...lol...actually the guys were two olympic atheletes , one of them won gold , not sure on the other one???wasn't paying that much attention to it...drinking coffee :more important...
11/08/2005
Listening to: Blue Monday by Orgy from the Candyass album
How does it feel to treat me like you do
When you've laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are
I thought I was mistaken
I thought I heard your words
Tell me, how do I feel
Tell me now, how do I feel
How does it feel, how should I feel
Tell me how does it feel, to treat me like you do
Those who came before me
Lived through their vocations
From the past until completion
They'll turn away no more
And I still find it so hard
To say what I need to say
But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me
Just how I should feel today
I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
And I thought I was mistaken
And I thought I heard you speak
Tell me how do I feel
Tell me now, how should I feel
Now I stand here waiting...
I thought I told you to leave me
While I walked down to the beach
Tell me how does it feel
When your heart grows cold
How does it feel, how should I feel
Tell me how does it feel, to treat me like you do
Comments...people Comments!!!
Thank you for those that do, But I'd really like to see some more...
GOOOD -BAD- Whatever??? JUST write something, make your voice be Heard....
Women May Enjoy Humor More, if It's Funny
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Mon Nov 7, 6:39 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The difference between the sexes has long been a rich source of humor. Now it turns out, humor is one of the differences.
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Women seem more likely than men to enjoy a good joke, mainly because they don't always expect it to be funny.
"The long trip to Mars or Venus is hardly necessary to see that men and women often perceive the world differently," a research team led by Dr. Allan L. Reiss of the Stanford University School of Medicine reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
But they were surprised when their studies of how the male and female brains react to humor showed that women were more analytical in their response, and felt more pleasure when they decided something really was funny.
"Women appeared to have less expectation of a reward, which in this case was the punch line of the cartoon," said Reiss. "So when they got to the joke's punch line, they were more pleased about it."
Women were subjecting humor to more analysis with the aim of determining if it was indeed funny, Reiss said in a telephone interview.
Men are using the same network in the brain, but less so, he said, men are less discriminating.
"It doesn't take a lot of analytical machinery to think someone getting poked in the eye is funny," he commented when asked about humor like the Three Stooges.
While there is a lot of overlap between how men and women process humor, the differences can help account for the fact that men gravitate more to one-liners and slapstick while women tend to use humor more in narrative form and stories, Reiss said.
The funnier the cartoon the more the reward center in the women's brain responded, unlike men who seemed to expect the cartoons to be funny from the beginning, the researchers said.
The new insight could improve understanding of such conditions as depression, the researchers said.
"The bottom line is that I think it contributes to the foundation of understanding individual differences in humans," Reiss said. Humor is used by humans to cope with stress and to establish relationships, and it can even help strengthen the immune system.
Reiss' team studied the response of 10 women and 10 men to 70 black-and-while cartoons, asking them to rate the jokes for how funny they were. While the volunteers were looking at the cartoons their brains were being studied with an MRI to determine what parts of the brains were responding.
In large part, men and women had similar responses to humor, using parts of the brain responsible for the structure and context of language and for understanding juxtaposition.
In women, however, some areas were more active than in men. These included the left prefrontal cortex, which the researchers said suggests a greater emphasis on language and executive processing, and the nucleus accumbens, or NAcc, which is part of the reward center.
Reiss said he was surprised at the NAcc finding. The researchers theorized that because women were being more analytical they weren't necessarily expecting the cartoons to be as funny as did the men.
Then, when they saw the punch line, the reward center lit up, indicating something pleasant and unexpected.
Arnie Cann, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, commented: "Given the findings in the current study, that women appear to use more executive functions, it could be that they are more engaged in scrutinizing the humor to decide if it fits their views on what is acceptable humor. Once they decide the humor is OK, they could be experiencing a relief-like response."
That would fit in with the finding that women experience more reward from the joke, said Cann, who was not part of Reiss' research team.
Reiss' research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
___
On the Net:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.pnas.org
Two Drunken Moose Invade Home for Elderly
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - They rarely have problems with drunks or rowdy animals, but residents of an elderly home in southern Sweden had to deal with both when a pair of intoxicated moose invaded the premises.
The moose — a cow and her calf — had become drunk over the weekend by eating fermented apples they found outside the home in Sibbhult, southern Sweden, said Anna Karlsson, who works there.
Police managed to scare them off once, but the large mammals returned to get more of the tempting fruits. This time the moose were drunk and aggressive, forcing police to send for a hunter with a dog to make them leave.
Police did not pursue the culprits, but made sure all apples were picked up from the area, local police chief Bengt Hallberg said. No one was hurt.
Petite Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli Recipe
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the Petite Crab Cakes:
1 pound crabmeat
1 large Wild Oats Organic Egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Wild Oats Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced 1/8 in.
Lemon aioli, recipe below
For the Lemon Aioli:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
RECIPE METHOD
FOR THE PETITE CRAB CAKES:
Spread the crabmeat onto a sheet pan and examine closely for shell fragments.
Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, then add the crabmeat and mix thoroughly.
Separate the crab mixture into 20 portions and form into a crab cake shape. Place onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan or pie tin. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
To heat, place pan of crab cakes into a preheated 350 degrees F. oven and allow to cook for approximately 6 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown and hot throughout.
FOR THE LEMON AIOLI:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Serve chilled with petite crab cakes. Yields 1 cup.
Recipe reprinted by permission of Wild Oats Natural Marketplace. All rights reserved.
Quick Cranberry Orange Bars Recipe
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the Base:
One (15.6 ounce) package Pillsbury Cranberry Quick Bread Mix
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
For the Filling:
One (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon cornstarch
RECIPE METHOD
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 inch square pan. In large bowl, combine all base ingredients; mix well with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture evenly in bottom of greased pan.
In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients; blend well. Spread filling evenly over base. Sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture; press lightly.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Cut into bars.
Recipe reprinted by permission of Pillsbury®. All rights reserved.
Vermont-Cheddar Spoon Bread Recipe
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
Cooking spray
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons cornmeal, divided
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Vermont sharp cheddar cheese
RECIPE METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 1-quart souffle dish with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cornmeal, and set aside.
Combine 1/2 cup cornmeal, milk, salt, and black pepper in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Gradually stir 1/2 cup hot cornmeal mixture into egg yolk, and add to remaining cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.
Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites and cheese into cornmeal mixture. Spoon batter into prepared dish. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour or until puffy and browned. Serve immediately.
Serving size: 1 cup
Recipe reprinted by permission of Cooking Light magazine. All rights reserved.
Where in the WORLD is MATT LAUER2
Well Looks like Matt ended up in the Panama Canal, yawn...Boring...Flips channel to Tickle U for the Kids....
11/07/2005
Pit Bulls, Not demons....
This is a post from a good friend of mine and I felt it needed to be seen here, please feel free to copy and paste this post everywhere, The dog Named in this post is Bella she is a Pit Bull, and I personally know her, A Big sweetie pie. Bup knows her too, when he was 2 she curled up on the Ground and he romped all over her, and pulled her ears and stared in her eyes and generally had a good ole time, he calls her Bella BoBo, she lay there quietly and occasionally licked Bup's face, a really sweet dog.
**********************************************
>Yeah I'm pissed off. Normally, I'm OK with CNN and generally check out the headlines every morning while having my coffee. So, this morning, I log on to see the following headline: Marauding pit bulls attack six. You can read the article yourself here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/06/pit.bulls.ap/index.html
The article describes how 2 pit bulls attacked a pair of children who were going door to door to solicit for some fund raiser. We'll leave aside for the moment my opinion that dragging your "adorable" spawn door to door to ask for money is A) Not a good idea in the first place because attack dogs are only one of the possible horrible things that can happen when you invade a stranger's privacy and B) My taxes already pay for a good chunk of your child's school activities so pressuring me to pay even more out of pocket is pretty low... and move right to the thing that REALLY ticked me off. That ridiclous headline. "Maurading" were they? Somehow this conjures up pictures of pit bulls in eye patches, peg legs and big floppy coats and hats rampaging through the town waving cutlasses as they leap off their pirate ship The Black Doggie. The truth is, they weren't even running loose, escaped from their home, when the attack occurred. The attack began in their own yard because some ninny decided it was perfectly fine to teach their children to ask strangers for money and went knocking on the door the dogs were, to start with, securely behind. The dogs were NOT running loose to begin with and so they were clearly NOT "maurading!" It's this kind of bombastic and melodramatic "journalism" (and I use the term loosely), that is so irresponsible as to be criminal, that really gets to me.
The article also goes on to state that the dogs "attacked" both their owner and 2 people (one being one of the children's father) who tried to "stop them" (the dogs) and "protect" the children. This "stopping" and "protecting" also included the use of baseball bats. Let me tell you, you hit me with a baseball and the LEAST I'm gonna do is bite you! Did anyone honestly expect these dogs (no matter their breed) to do differently? While the dogs may have indeed been engaged in an attack on the children it seems pretty clear to me that they were simply defending themselves from the adults. Should the adults simply have stood back and done nothing while this was going on? Of course not, they did what anyone (I hope) would do in a similar situation, they risked life and limb to save the children. But, again, this particular piece of yellow journalism does its best to slant the piece using words that are not imflammatory towards the actions of the adults (note they did not "beat," "hit," or "attack," the dogs) and saved all the inflammatory words ("maurading," and "attacking") for the actions of the dogs.
In an eigth grade journalism class I was taught that, as a news reporter, you were charged to report nothing but the facts. Therefore you could not write, "It was a beautiful day." But you COULD write, "The sun was shining, there was a breeze, and the temperature was 72 degrees." That was the difference between fact and opinion. Presenting FACTS allows people to make up their own minds. And sure, simply stating the facts of this case would indeed have presented pit bulls in a bad light. So I don't see why all the melodrama was necessary.
What is ALSO missing from this article, as in so many others, is the human factor in the attack. Why was this owner in such poor control of his dogs that he could not keep them from racing past him out the front door? Why has HE allowed his dogs to become dangerous? Yes, I own an American Pit Bull. So this is a hot button issue for me and THIS is, indeed, an opinion piece. I'm not reporting for CNN or any other news organization.
So here's my point. Pit Bulls ARE naturally aggressive and VERY protective. They can, and sometimes do, view even children as a threat. So, just as if you owned a gun, it is YOUR obligation to make them safe and see to it that they don't "go off" at an inappropriate target. As an owner it is on you to TRAIN them, be aware of their natural tendencies, and counter them. My "bully", Bella, loves children. She personally feels it's her job to protect any child she lays eyes on. Alas, this also includes "protecting" them from their parents, who are strangers to her after all. We are well known in the neighborhood we walk in and she is regularly mobbed by kids. Their parents know her and know she isn't a threat and so they aren't stupidly rushing up to her and looming over her, thus becoming a threat as far as she's concerned. Beacuse of this I do not take her to crowded places where she's not known. Nor is she ever off a leash when I am out with her unless we're hiking out where there are no other people. I have worked hard to train her to come to me when I call her, no matter what else has caught her attention and interest. While naturally aggressive towards other large dogs (whereas small dogs and cats can completely dominate her) she will wheel away and come to me when called even if she's charging another dog. This has taken a lot of hard work and years on both my part and my husband's. But we have always known it's important to control her. When someone comes to our door she barks her head off and would LOVE to bust out past me. But I've trained her to sit behind me, away from the door. She still barks and sounds very scary I'm sure, but she's under control and won't move until I tell her it's OK. So there's little chance she'll eat even the annoying solicitors I rather wish she would. When I walk her I carry a walking stick. We've been attacked by dogs running loose on half a dozen ocassions (funny, NONE of them were pit bulls) and even though it is her natural reaction to spring forward and defend me, I've trained her to stand behind me as I step forward and whack them with the stick to drive them off. I do this becase A) I don't need the vet bills and B) even though I'm observing the law and keeping my dog on a leash I know very well that even if we're attacked by some "maurading" dog with no owner in sight to control it, it will be MY dog that's dragged away and killed if there's a fight merely because the media has whipped up such hysteria overher breed.
Don't believe me on the point that it's the media that has convinced everyone that pit bulls are so dangerous and not the actions of the pit bulls themselves? Then read the information here: http://www.dogexpert.com/HomePage/DogBiteStatistics.html This article will tell you that most dog attacks are by mixed breed dogs. The pure breeds that most often bite are Chows (and I've had close encounters with them!) and German Shepards. It will also tell you that the breeds most often involved in FATAL attacks are Rottweilers and Pit Bulls. So while Pits aren't the dogs most likely to bite you, they are the dog most likely to kill you IF they DO bite you. Well this makes a certain amount of sense when you consider how much more physically powerful they are than most other types of dogs. Just like a .357 handgun is a lot more likely to kill you than a .22 handgun, so it goes with "higher powered" dogs. And, again, that's why the focus should be on owner responsibility. But the big thing this article will point out is that it's not the dogs but, rather, HUMAN ERROR, that leads to most dog attacks. So, if you happen to be an idiot, you probably should not own ANY dog (or have children for that matter), let alone a physically powerful one that's probably smarter than you are, too.
The fact is, every state has laws in place to deal with dogs (in general, BEFORE they even lost their minds and started in with pointless and stupid breed specific legislation) that pose a threat to the community by either running loose or actually attacking people. Those laws carry pretty high monentary fines. Court precedent has also shown in recent years that owners can and will be held responsible up to and including murder or manslaughter charges when they have a dog that is a danger. If those laws are enforced diligently by local law enforcement regardless of the breed of the dog involved that alone will be enough to greatly cut down the amount of all kinds of dog attacks. People ALSO need to be held responsible for their own stupidity and when they act negliently or carelessly (like leaving their small children unattended with an unknown dog or failing to teach their children NOT to stick their hands through fences to pet unknown dogs!) have it made plain to them that THEY are at fault in the instances (which are the overwhelming majority of times that a dog attack occurs anyway) when it is their own actions that provoke the attack. If local law enforcement started taking a bite out of people's pocketbooks believe me, they'd sit up and notice and people would start being a whole lot more careful about their dogs, no matter what breed they happened to be. Breed specific legislation is nothing more than racial profiling and if we aren't allowed to racial profile when it comes to humans then logic dictates that we shouldn't do it to dogs either. Just as all people of Middle Eastern descent aren't terrorists and all African Americans are not crack addicted criminals, neither are all Pit Bulls dangerous killers. The illogic of breed specific legislation just seems so obvious as to be laughable... if it weren't punishing and even killing wonderful dogs.
So feel free to "maurad" through cyberspace and repost this article anywhere you see fit.
Mayor: Sever Thumbs of Graffiti Artists
RENO, Nev. - Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has suggested that those who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television.
Goodman, appearing Wednesday on the "Nevada Newsmakers" television show, said, "In the old days in France, they had beheading of people who commit heinous crimes.
"You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it.
"I'm saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb," the mayor added. "That may be the right thing to do."
Goodman also suggested that whippings or canings should be brought back for children who get into trouble.
"I also believe in a little bit of corporal punishment going back to the days of yore, where examples have to be shown," Goodman said.
"I'm dead serious," said Goodman, adding, "Some of these (children) don't learn. You have got to teach them a lesson, and this is coming from a criminal defense lawyer."
"They would get a trial first," he added.
Another panelist on the show, Howard Rosenberg, a state university system regent, responded by saying that cutting off the thumbs of taggers won't solve the problem and Goodman should "use his head for something other than a hat rack."
___
Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com
CHICKEN BOUILLABAISSE
Chicken, not fish, is the star in this version of the hearty Provençal soup. IMPROV: Make this dish even more flavorful by adding a faux rouille. Combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise with 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika; season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with a dollop.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle with salt and pepper:
6 chicken legs (split into drumsticks and thighs), skinned
Heat in large wide ovenproof pan over medium-high heat:
3 tablespoons olive oil
Add and sauté until soft and golden, about 8 minutes:
1 onion, sliced
Add and bring mixture to boil:
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
2 4-inch-long orange peel strips (orange part only)
3/4 cup dry white wine
Add and return mixture to boil:
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 14-ounce can low-salt chicken broth
Add chicken pieces to pan in single layer, submerging in sauce; return mixture to boil. Cover pan and place in oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven; keep covered. Maintain oven temperature.
Toast on a baking sheet until golden, about 12 minutes: 12 1/2-inch-thick baguette slices, brushed with olive oil
Remove from oven. Spoon chicken and sauce into shallow bowls. Top each serving with 2 toasted baguette slices. Garnish with rouille, if desired.
Makes 6 servings.
Bon Appétit
October 2005
Dumbass file- Playing Bosnian Hot Potato
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia (Reuters) - A hand grenade being used instead of a ball in a game of catch exploded early on Saturday killing three youths in this Bosnian town, police and news agencies said.
Two youths aged 19 and 20, one of them from neighboring Croatia, were killed instantly while a 20-year-old woman died on her way to hospital, police said. Her sister was slightly injured but two other youths suffered serious injuries.
The blast occurred at 2:00 a.m. in the western town of Novi Grad at a place in the town center frequented by youngsters. Police said an inquiry was under way and declined further comment. It was not clear why the grenade exploded.
ONASA news agency quoted witnesses as saying the youths tossed the hand grenade to each other before it exploded in the hands of one of them.
Bosnia is awash with illegal weapons left over from the 1992-95 war and tragic incidents are frequent despite several successful campaigns by international peacekeepers and police to get people to hand over illegal weapons.
Where in the WORLD is MATT LAUER
...Day One..
Well Looks like Matt ended up on EASTER ISLAND...Cool..all those Big head guys staring at you ...Creepy...
11/06/2005
Sleep Gently...my little lovey.
Just a few words to Beeb, I Misss you , and wish you were here with me, you were truly an original and will not be forgotten. BiBiCham..Beeblemoose..Mummy loves you. My sweet puppy girl.
~:: murphy's laws of computing ::~
1. When computing, whatever happens, behave as though you meant
it to happen.
2. When you get to the point where you really understand your
computer, it's probably obsolete.
3. The first place to look for information is in the section of
the manual where you least expect to find it.
4. When the going gets tough, upgrade.
5. For every action, there is an equal and opposite malfunction.
6. To err is human . . . to blame your computer for your mistakes
is even more human, it is downright natural.
7. He who laughs last probably made a back-up.
8. If at first you do not succeed, blame your computer.
9. A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have
evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.
10. The number one cause of computer problems is computer solutions.
11. A computer program will always do what you tell it to do, but
rarely what you want to do.
GhostHunters Mini Marathon
Tune In Thursday Nov 10th 7/6 central,
For six season one epidsodes of Grant and Jason leading the search for evidence or the paranormal.
TIGER EYES
You have Tiger Eyes (like
my username, haha)!
Positive Traits:
Determined, Passionate, Loyal, Strong,
Courageous
Negative Traits:
Aggressive, Ambitious, Domineering, Possessive,
Vengeful
Your eyes are the windows to your soul. What type of eyes do you have?
brought to you by Quizilla
...Ala , we seem to see Eye to Eye :)...I acquired this Quiz from her at her site
11/05/2005
White alligator awes zoo visitors
Carrie Beletz took a step forward as a 4½-foot white alligator approached her through mucky water. But this sixth-grader was not afraid.Instead, Carrie, a student at Sahuaro Elementary School in Phoenix, pressed her face to the glass at Wildlife World Zoo to get a better look at a creature she had never seen before."That's cool," she said. "But I wouldn't want to feed it."The rare white alligator is Arizona's first and is on display at the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park until May 1. Only a handful of white alligators exist in the world and are usually found throughout the Southeastern United States. White alligators are albino, meaning they lack normal pigmentation. Their lack of coloration prevents them from camouflaging themselves in the wild, often creating challenges for survival, said Wildlife World Zoo founder and director Mickey Ollson.
Forty-five percent of the zoo's attendees are repeat visitors, keeping the staff on their toes to find their latest exhibit, Ollson said."We try each year to get something new and different at the zoo," Ollson said. "It's the world's rarest reptile and I think people are just amazed by it."Carrie and the rest of her class certainly were amazed, as they rushed over to the female alligator's makeshift habitat and expressed surprise."I think it's cool how they have one," Carrie said. "I'll go to zoos and stuff, but I've never seen one that's white. I didn't even know that white alligators exist."
Quarry yields homes older than Stonehenge
Archaeologists have for the first time unearthed the homes of Neolithic henge builders, in a set of dwellings, some older than Stonehenge, excavated from a Northumberland quarry. The two settlement sites, each about the size of a football pitch and probably inhabited by a few related families, are dated to between 4,000BC and 3,000BC. The remains of the modest buildings are among the most extensive Neolithic dwellings ever found in Britain. The site is near the village of Milfield, in an area with a rich archaeological history, dominated by the enormous Yeavering Bell hill fort, built 1,000 years after the huts and henges on the plain below. The dwellings are surrounded by timber and earth bank henges so close in date it is assumed they must have been built by the same people.
The Neolithic Britons left some of the most spectacular prehistoric monuments in the world, but there have been only scraps of evidence showing where and how they lived. House sites are so rare that some archaeologists believe most people lived a semi-nomadic existence. "Neolithic habitation sites are as rare as hens' teeth anyway, but this is the first time we have found them in association with henge sites," David Miles, chief archaeologist at English Heritage, said yesterday.
Millionaire tabby becomes Canada's richest cat
OTTAWA (AFP) - A lifelong bachelor who amassed a fortune by living reportedly simply left all his money to his cat after his death.
According to the Ottawa Citizen David Harper, the shy and somewhat reclusive owner of Red the cat, died in March at the age of 79, but left an estate worth 1.3 million dollars (1.1 million US) to his beloved tabby.
The United Church of Canada will administer the funds, in accordance with Harper's will, and be responsible for the three-year-old cat's care, feeding and veterinarian bills for the rest of its life, the newspaper reported.
Harper worked most of his life as a gardener in public service.
| Your Birthdate: December 22 |
 You tend to be understated and under appreciated. You have a hidden force to do amazing things, doing them your own way. People may see you as strange and shy, but they know little. Your unconventional ways have more power than they (and even you) know. Your strength: Standing up for what you know is true Your weakness: You tend to be picky and rigid Your power color: Silver Your power symbol: Square Your power month: April |
11/04/2005
SCOTT STAPP -EX Lead singer for CREED
He has a new album coming out...Man , we are getting this....he has an awsome voice...go to the site and take a listen to the sound bytes of the songs...you will see why.
Silver Jewelry Club
Nice stuff for FREE , But the catch is a 5.99 s&h fee...But the do take PAYPAL so thats good, check it out
Magic Smoke
More Places "They" Say You Can't Blog
This story came out on Monday, though it hit Slashdot today, so people are still talking about it: It's an article about how the principal of a Catholic high school in Sparta, N.J., told his students that they had to take down their blogs and Myspace.com profiles or face suspension.
The ostensible reason is to protect students from sexual predators and other baddies who might exploit the personal information kids post online.
A laudible goal, no doubt, but come on: A blanket ban on blogging outside of school? Extreme, and unworkable (or have you not dealt with any teenagers recently?)
In a similar vein, Wired News ran a story about how more employers are blocking people from reading blogs at work, ostensibly (there's that word again) to keep employees from posting proprietary info on boards and blogs, among other reasons.
One of those other reasons is the fear of lost productivity. AdAge (registration required) has a new study out about how U.S. workers will waste the equivalent of 551,000 years reading blogs -- you can read a Andy Lark's writeup of the report.
On the face of, it might not seem unreasonable. After all, you might not want your office drones frittering away their valuable work hours on gossip blogs or sports blogs or whatever.
The problem with blanket bans is that they can also filter out the stuff that's actually useful.
Now, granted, I work in the industry, so it's only natural for me to be reading blogs at work -- it's part of my job.
But blogs are a tool, and they're a tool that companies can use for information sharing (see my post on Internal Blogging).
Plus, no matter where you work, there are blogs talking about your company, competitors and industry, written by people who use your products or services or do thethings that you do.
Check out Shel Holtz's thoughts on this (blogged, course) and the Catholic school blog ban.
In my own uninformed opinion, blanket bans on blogging or blog-reading just can't last, any more than bans on websurfing, IM, e-mail or listening to music (on headphones, at a reasonable volume) lasted.
Given enough time, they're just going to be too widespread and too useful for companies to block entirely, and the more agile companies are going to figure out how to adapt these technologies (with restrictions or guidelines) for their own purposes. Thanks. -- Joe
11/03/2005
Toad in the Hole Recipe
Reproduced by permission of World Wide Recipes
http://www.wwrecipes.com>
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black peppe1 pound small, fresh pork sausages
To make the batter in a blender, combine the flour, eggs, milk,
salt and a
few grindings of pepper in the blender jar, and blend at high speed
for 2
or 3 seconds. Turn off the machine, scrape down the sides of the
jar, and
blend again for 40 seconds. To make the batter by hand, beat the
eggs and
salt with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater until frothy.
Slowly add
the flour, beating constantly. Then pour in the milk in a thin
stream and
beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Refrigerate the batter
for at
least 1 hour. Place the sausages side by side in a heavy 10 to 12
inch
skillet, and prick them once or twice with the tines of a fork.
Sprinkle them
with 2 tablespoons of water, cover the pan tightly, and cook over
low heat
for 3 minutes. Then remove the cover, increase the heat to
moderate, and
continue to cook, turning the sausages frequently with tongs or a
spatula,
until the water has completely evaporated and the sausages have
begun to
brown in their own fat. Arrange the sausages in a single layer in a
baking tin or dish about 6 by 10 inches and 2 inches deep, and
moisten them with 2 tablespoons of their drippings. Keep them at
least an inch apart. Then
pour the batter over them and bake in the middle of a preheated
400F
oven for 30 minutes, or until the pudding has risen over the top of
the
pan and is crisp and brown. Serve at once.
Serves 4.
The Duracell "First Gift of Christmas"Sweepstakes/Contest
This looks fun:) The kids love entering contests...
11/02/2005
Snow Comparison...This is true ,and We are a bit hardier than you folks from the south it seems...JMO
Claim: E-mail compares North Dakotans' response to a blizzard to New Orleans residents' handling of the flood brought on by Hurricane Katrina.
Status: Multiple — see below
Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2005]
North Dakota News Bulletin
This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota state after the storm.
Amusing, if it were not so true...
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event — may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" — with a historic blizzard of up to 24" inches of snow and winds to 50 MPH that broke trees in half, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
FYI:
George Bush did not come....
FEMA staged nothing....
No one howled for the government...
No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
No one looted....
Phil Cantori of the Weather Channel did not come....
And Geraldo Rivera did not move in.
Nope, we just melted snow for water, sent out caravans to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars, fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Aladdin lamps, and put on an extra layer of clothes because up here it is 'work or die'. We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.
"In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the worlds social problems evaporate."
Origins: On 4 October 2005, portions of Montana, the Dakotas, and Wyoming were hit by an early snowstorm that knocked out power, closed roads, and dumped up to 2 feet of snow. Some schools were closed by the storm, and thousands of power outages were reported. The National Guard was called out in North Dakota to aid the Highway Patrol in rescuing stranded motorists, of which there were hundreds.
In Dickinson, snowplows led emergency vehicles that were used to deliver fuel to a nursing home and to the Police Department to run generators during a power outage.
Sam Walker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, said of the storm: "It is, on our records, probably one of the earliest ones, as far as our recorded history goes, in 126, 130 years." But that wasn't the only surprising thing about the storm — only days before 90 degree temperatures had been recorded in the state (e.g., 92 degrees in Bismarck on 1 October
2005).
Midwesterners hit by this storm appear to have overcome their short-lived catastrophe without federal assistance. However, in comparing response to that weather-related disaster to what overwhelmed New Orleans, it needs be pointed out that the bulk of the digging out from under the snowfall and rescuing stranded motorists from snow-entombed cars fell to the state's police and emergency service workers and the National Guard, not (as the e-mail would have it) to rugged individual citizens who hadn't been "immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks." The nature and severity of the two disasters were different — the one could be coped with locally, but the other could not.
Barbara "one can shovel snow, but one cannot shovel water" Mikkelson
Last updated: 2 November 2005
Build a Bat Habitat
This is sorta interesting , But I know that G-man would never go for it, he doesn't like flying critters...
Cranberry Streusel Sweet Potatoes
Dotted with crimson cranberries, the streusel topping adds a crunchy touch to mashed sweet potatoes. All the sweetness comes from either the potatoes or cranberries, because no sugar is added.
6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (1 slice)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1. Place sweet potatoes in 3-quart saucepan; add enough water to cover. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain. Shake potatoes in saucepan over low heat to dry.
2. Heat oven to 350ºF. Mash potatoes with 2 tablespoons butter and the salt until no lumps remain. Spoon into ungreased 1-quart casserole. Mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over potatoes.
3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until heated through and streusel mixture is golden brown.
What we saw Last night...In the backyard.
G-man dragged out the scope , and called me to see these things, a binary star,
and the Seven Sisters( the Pleiades)
..and Mars...
It was very clear and cool to look at these things,
Stars, other worlds, so far away,cold and quiet..
lightyears away for real.
....from our backyard.
ah Crap...or Texas Inmate Escapes From Prison Van
GALVESTON, Texas - State prison officials were hunting Tuesday for an inmate who escaped who from a prison van that was taking him to a corrections system hospital.
Carlos Kidd, serving a 10-year sentence for a Milam County aggravated assault conviction, was put into the van for the 35-mile trip from the Ramsey I unit in Brazoria County to the hospital in Galveston. But he was discovered missing when the van arrived.
"We believe he's in Galveston," Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. "We're focusing the majority of our search there. The people of Galveston need to be aware and on the lookout."
Kidd, 25, was not believed to be armed, but Lyons said he should be considered dangerous.
"Obviously if he's escaped, he's not going to want to be apprehended again," she said.
Authorities were notified of the disappearance about 2 a.m.
Galveston officers and state troopers were helping prison officials in the search. The TDCJ inspector general's office was looking into the cause of the escape.
Lyons said Kidd complained of feeling ill early Tuesday, was placed in restraints and loaded into the van for the trip to Galveston. When the van arrived, guards found the restraints — but no Kidd, Lyons said.
Kidd had been in prison since January 2002 and would have been eligible for parole in next September.
Phone Repairman Helps Save Dogs From Fire
HOLLAND, Mich. - A telephone repairman came calling at just the right time for a southwestern Michigan homeowner and the owner's two dogs.
Matt Goff, an employee of SBC Communications Inc., said he was making a service call at a Holland house around 2:30 p.m. Monday when he noticed smoke filling the structure as he was knocking on the front door.
He considered trying to pop open the door but decided instead to call for aid.
"It was a first for me," he said. "I'm not sure I get paid enough to do this type of work, but I'm glad I could help."
Firefighters from Holland and neighboring Park Township arrived within minutes, entered the single-story home and led the dogs outside. The house was otherwise unoccupied at the time.
They said the occupant had left without turning off something that had been cooking on the stove, and the burning food filled the house with smoke. Firefighters turned off the stove and cleared out the smoke by opening some windows.
Goff was credited with preventing a possibly serious house fire that could have killed the dogs.
"It could have been bad if the phone man wasn't here at that exact time," Scott Gamby, the township's fire chief, told The Holland Sentinel. "The resident was really lucky that guy was here
Holy Cow!!..or Lightning strike kills 68 dairy cows
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A lightning strike killed 68 dairy cows waiting to be milked on an Australian farm, local media reported Wednesday.
The cows were standing together in a paddock Monday when an electrical storm hit near Dorrigo on Australia's mid-east coast, radio reports said.
Sixty-eight cows were killed by lightning, but another 69 survived, it said.
Good Samaritan Has Run-In With Demon
KINGWOOD, W.Va. - A good Samaritan had a run-in with a demon after stopping to help a vampire. The unidentified motorist was flagged down by Angela Caplinger of Kingwood after she got into an argument with her husband following a costume party on Saturday night.
She was wearing a vampire costume and her husband, 32-year-old Roy Wade Caplinger, was dressed as a demon, State Police Trooper Joe Portaro said.
Portaro said Angela Caplinger asked the motorist to take her to the sheriff's department. She got into the car and Roy Caplinger allegedly jumped on the hood.
"Imagine you're sitting on this dark roadway, you have a hysterical woman beside you, and the devil jumps on your hood," Portaro said.
Seeing a demon on the car startled the motorist and the vehicle sped off, causing Roy Caplinger to fall off.
Portaro later saw a man dressed as a demon walking near the site of the incident and arrested him on charges of first-offense driving under the influence and second-offense domestic battery.
Roy Caplinger was treated and released from Preston Memorial Hospital, then taken to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, still wearing his costume. But officers removed two demon horns from his head before taking his booking photo, Preston County Sheriff Ron Crites said.
Caplinger was later released on a $5,000 bond.
___
And so it Starts:)
Yup that time of year:) It's after Halloween now, Yes I know that you All celebrate Thanksgiving this month, but as a former Canadian, I grew up celebrating it on OCT 12th . I feel like this American thanksgiving is just a dry run for Christmas..lol...No offense ...
We are GREATLY looking forward to having our good friends here for a few days to hang out and eat lots of good food I will COOK! Yes Hansie there will be PIE!..
Oh yeah Back to the point of this post :)
It is getting to be that time of year:)...
Hint hint.....Ahem...Birthday and Xmas :)
Nice Silver Poodle earrings :)
FREE Internet radio for Pets...
OKay this has been personally tested ....
I put it on and Coal and Bonk went mad, dancing around and barking ,then they sat beside the computer wagging tails and looking like they were "enjoying"the music....
I left it on for 5 mins...and it seemed they did "Like" it so ....
Coal and Bianca Give this site 4 Paws up:
COAL: woof yAPP, pANT, yARP YEARP!
BIANCA: BRuuurooorururu WOOOOOOF!
How Old is GrandPa???
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandpa replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
§ television,
§ penicillin,
§ polio shots,
§ frozen foods,
§ Xerox,
§ contact lenses,
§ Frisbees and
§ the pill.
There was no:
§ radar,
§ credit cards,
§ laser beams or
§ ball-point pens.
Man had not invented:
§ pantyhose,
§ air conditioners,
§ dishwashers,
§ clothes dryers,
§ and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
§ man hadn't yet walked on the moon.
Your Grandmother and I got married first-and then lived together.
Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir'- and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir.'
We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.
We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
Draft dodgers were pe ople who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.
And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.
The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.
Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.
Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.
And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $6 00 but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day:
§ "grass" was mowed,
§ "coke" was a cold drink,
§ "pot" was something your mother cooked in and
§ "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
§ "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
§ " chip" meant a piece of wood,
§ "hardware" was found in a hardware store and
§ "software" wasn't even a word.
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap... and how old do you think I am?
I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!
Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
This man would be only 58 years old!
A State of Mind...
Watching the local Morning news show, they had a segment on about the Minute Men /so called Vigilantes and" The Border War"...
Well they had lots of footage of the Border and peoples ranches and so forth, interviews with Local citizens and The Volunteers themselves...
It was a good spot and it shows how some people who don't even live here Blow this out of proportion.
The Volunteers : Observe and take note of what's going on and report to the Local authorities, they don't make contact of any kind , no talking ,shouting, or physical contact...I don't have a problem with this at all...
I liked what one old grizzled cowboy type said: "We think of this job as a TEXAS SIZED Neighborhood watch" sort of sums it up to me, Big State , BIG state of MIND....
11/01/2005
Last min Costume ideas for:.....
Well Bup was most concerned because he really wanted Grapey (his bear) to come trick or treating with us , but he didn't have a costume,....
so I grab a dozen used dryer sheets(yes I save them they make good dusters bunched together like a bath pouf), a sharpie marker , some ribbon and make :
The Ghost of Grapey...oooooooooooooooooohhhhhh
Very scarey kiddies...
Grapey Before...
Grapey After his Demise......
Sky-High Brunch Bake
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hr 25 min
Makes: 12 servings
1 pkg. (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
6 eggs
1 cup POLLY-O Ricotta Cheese
Dash hot pepper sauce
2 pkg. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
4 slices cooked OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup chopped red peppers
PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Unfold pastry sheet and roll out one sheet to about 11-inch square and one to 12-inch square. Line bottom and side of greased 9-inch springform pan with 12-inch pastry sheet.
BEAT eggs in medium bowl with wire whisk. Reserve 1 Tbsp. of the eggs; set aside. Add ricotta cheese, pepper sauce and spinach to remaining eggs; mix until well blended. Layer half each of the bacon, cheese, spinach mixture and red peppers in pastry-lined pan. Repeat layers.
PLACE remaining pastry sheet over mixture; fold and tuck pastry edges in pan. Pinch edges to seal. Brush top with reserved 1 Tbsp. egg. Cut 5 or 6 slits in top crust with tip of sharp knife to allow steam to escape.
BAKE 45 to 55 min. or until golden brown. Cool 10 min. Run small knife around edge of pan before removing rim.
KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS
Make-Ahead
Assemble and bake pie as directed. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, uncover. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 40 min. or until heated through.
Mice can SING......and tromp...This is cool!!!
Study: Mice Sing in the Presence of Mates
By CHERYL WITTENAUER, Associated Press Writer
40 minutes ago
ST. LOUIS - Songbirds may be the Sinatras of the animal world, but male mice can carry a tune too, say Washington University researchers who were surprised by what they heard.
Scientists have known for decades that male lab mice produce high-frequency sounds — undetectable by human ears — when they pick up the scent of a female mouse. This high-pitched babble is presumably for courtship, although scientists are not certain.
But it turns out those sounds are more complex and interesting than previously thought.
"It soon became ... apparent that these vocalizations were not random twitterings but songs," said researcher Timothy Holy. "There was a pattern to them. They sounded a lot like bird songs."
To make their point, the researchers provided audio recordings of the sounds, which have been modified for human ears. The recordings do indeed sound birdlike.
The findings by the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are published online Tuesday in the journal Public Library of Science Biology.
If the analysis by the researchers is confirmed, mice can be added to the short list of creatures that sing in the presence of the opposite sex, including songbirds, humpback whales, porpoises, insects and, possibly, bats.
"There was joy in this discovery," Holy said. "We didn't expect it."
The finding opens the possibility of using mice to study and develop treatments for autism and other communication disorders, said Holy, the lead author and assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the university's medical school.
Bird song, how it is perceived and learned, is used to understand how the human brain works. But some questions might be posed better with mice, for experimental convenience, he said.
If it is true that the male mice are producing songs, it raises questions about how their sounds develop and whether mice — like birds — are able to learn new sounds, said animal communication expert Peter Marler, a behavioral neurobiologist at University of California, Davis.
He said "extraordinarily little" is known about how the human brain helps people learn to speak.
"We don't know even where to look in the (human) brain," he said. "If it were to turn out that (mice) songs are learned, and that parts of the brain are involved in learning, that might open a new area of investigation."
Marler said the only mammals known to learn new sounds are whales and porpoises, and "they're not exactly ideal for study."
Holy and co-author Zhongsheng Guo were studying the brain response in male mice to chemical signals emitted by female mice. The mice sounds were not audible without technical amplification. Initially, researchers recorded the sounds with a microphone, stored them in a computer and converted them to an image.
Later, they developed a way to hear the sounds by recording them on tape and reconstructing them four octaves lower. Holy said the mice sounds met two key criteria for song — distinct syllables and recurring themes, "like the melodic hook in a catchy tune."
He said their finding is not just perception, but a "very careful quantitative analysis of sounds."
Holy said adult bird songs are much more practiced, predictable and refined than those of mice, but even birds don't start out as great singers. They learn.
____
On the Net:
To download samples of mouse song modified to make them audible to humans, go to:
MOUSE SONG
DumbAss File Nov 1st
Greenpeace to pay fine for damaging reef
MANILA (Reuters) - Greenpeace said Tuesday it will pay nearly $7,000 in damages after the environmental group's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior II, hit a coral reef at a world heritage site in the southern Philippines.
The accident Monday was "very regrettable," Greenpeace said in a joint statement with the Tubbataha National Marine Park, but it laid some of the blame on maritime charts showing its ship was 1.5 miles from the reef.
Officials from the marine park assessed the area of damaged reef at 96 square metres (113 square yards) and valued it at 384,000 pesos.
"This accident could have been avoided if the chart was accurate," Red Constantino of Greenpeace Southeast Asia said in the statement. "We feel responsible, however, and this amount will be transferred Wednesday."
The visit to the reefs in the Sulu Sea was part of a four-month tour by the Rainbow Warrior II to Australia, China, the Philippines and Thailand to raise awareness about global warming and promote renewable energy.
The ship suffered no serious damage while briefly running aground, Greenpeace said.
The area of the maritime park is designated as a world heritage site by the United Nations.
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