Prank Turns Into Pane in the A$$

Three men in The Netherlands ran down a street in Utrecht with their pants pulled down in the back 'for a joke' ... At one point the 21-year-old 'pushed his behind against the window of a restaurant' that broke and resulted in 'deep wounds to his derriere.'    (More...)

The owner of the restaurant did not press charges after the men agreed to pay for the repairs to the window.
This would be a great story if the restaurant happened to be called The Full Moon Cafe.

No doubt, the unnamed 21-year old will be the butt of jokes from his friends for a while.

The Devil's in the moon for mischief [Lord Byron (from Don Juan)]

Addendum 6-4-08: I can't help but wonder, if this had occurred in a more litigious country, would the Mooner sue the restaurant for faulty glass resulting in the serious injury to his butt?

Tags: [The Netherlands]  [Mooning Prank]
[Lord Byron]  [Don Juan]
[Full Moon Cafe]

Coming Soon: Carbon Underground

A U.K. government sub-committee has a new proposal to reduce emissions.

"The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain's CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.
Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.
Anyone who exceeds their entitlement would have to buy top-up credits from individuals who haven't used up their allowance."    (More...)

To protect citizens against rising food costs, food ration cards for the poor were suggested in Russia just two weeks ago. The recommendation was sent back to the committee for more review as present-day paradigms of ration strategies were criticized as inefficient.

Experts point to the cost and bureaucracy involved to administer such a plan as primary flaws, but I see the potential for something worse: black market carbon trading and carbon credit identity theft. In 1941, rations were introduced to help manage the economy during WWII and the black market for unused ration coupons flourished.

Diabolical thinkers are probably already conjuring plans to control the worldwide supply of carbon credits.

Control carbon credits, Control the world! (insert evil laugh here)

What effect will the carbon credit underground have on Chicago's Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first legitimate emission exchange?

Today's Climate Consideration: Isn't one who supports the carbon offset industry really a pro-polluter?

Tags: [Environmental Audit Committee]  [Carbon Rations]  [Carbon Offsets]
[Climate Change]  [Global Warming]
[Emission Exchange]  [CCX]
[Dr. Evil]  [Pinky & The Brain]

Proposed Law in Hamilton is Profane

Mark Nimigan, Vice-Chair of Hamilton's Police Services Board, says that cleaning up the city's downtown is a priority.
At Tuesday's board meeting, Nimigan proposed the city criminalize the use of obscene language in public.   (more...)

He argued that issuing fines to people who use profanity in public, in particular downtown and within the city's parks, would reduce the objectionable behavior.
Mr. Nimigan did not comment on issues related to enforcement of his proposal. When informed of the suggested regulation, I wouldn't have blamed Chief Mullan if he'd muttered '$#!+' before giving an official response.

Never mind that HPSB met in-camera yesterday to discuss 12 alleged sexual harassment charges faced by an officer - this proposed crackdown on cussing can only mean one thing:

the city has solved all other @*!#% problems in its universe.

The proposed Anti-Swearing Statute was the lead on the local newscast.

chapters.indigo.ca

Tags: [Swearing in Public] [Hamilton, ON]
[Hamilton Police Services Board] [Mark Nimigan] [Chief Brian Mullan]
[CHCH News] [Michelle Dubé]

Contrast for Effective Outdoor Signs

Here's what I don't get:

If I'm using their
laser hair removal
service, why would I
only want 50% of it removed?






This featured sign was not provided by

Where The World Goes For Signs^™

(they'll ensure your signs convey a clear message)

Tags: [Outdoor Advertising] [Portable Billboards]
[Contrast Ratio in Signage] [Signarama]

Garden Variety Spring Games

Spring!
Burrowing animals venture out from their hollows. Sounds of birds chirping welcome each day. The snow is gone; the increasing hours of daylight promise the temperature will continue to rise. The nights are cool (sometimes downright cold), but the bright sun during the day atones for that.

Gardeners eagerly turn the soil in their flower beds to encourage new growth of plants.

Around here, it's time for the Annual Spring Gardening Game that I call
Dead or Alive. Take a look:

Dead

Mostly Dead

Alive but undesirable

Alive! One Single Flower

Tags:[Gardening]  [Spring]  [Dead or Alive]

Bawling for Blessings

The annual Crying Sumo Competition took place in Tokyo yesterday.

In crying sumo the babies are held up by amateur sumo wrestlers in a ring, and the baby who cries first is the winner. If both babies cry, then the one that cries loudest wins. A total of 84 babies born last year participated in the contest at the temple.

Crying sumo is a blessing for healthy growth of the child.
I don't understand the competition of this. Is there a wail-off to determine the loudest crier of all babies presented? What prize does the loudest crier receive?

"I love winners when they cry, losers when they try." (Tom T. Hall)

Available at chapters.indigo.ca

Tags:[Crying Sumo]  [Sensoji Temple]  [Tom T. Hall]

Confession: I'm Not Good Friend

I've got a page on Facebook. I've got Facebook Friends.

But I'm a terrible Web 2.0 friend.

A while ago, someone apparently hacked into my Facebook account and sent out some notes, wall posts and video links that were unusual.

I was alerted to the breach when a said friend contacted me to explain my recent Graffiti on the Superwall. I told the friend "That you were Poked, Super Poked, received a wall post, were invited to add an application or take a quiz by me on Facebook, is 'unusual'."

I reviewed my settings, changed my password and secured my page. Occasionally, I have sent a legitimate video link (see right) or completed a quiz (car IQ) . Once I even sent a gift! I don't know why I'm such a bad online friend; in the real world I'm not so negligent. I'm respectful and kind. I remember birthdays, step in and help, and don't require.

Squidoo. Facebook. MySpace. Orkut. Twitter. BlogLog. Flickr. YouTube. Netvibe. Classmates.
I'll be your Web 2.0 friend. Mark my status low-maintenance.

Tags:[Facebook] [Web 2.0] [Social Media]

Truly Personalized Cellular Service

The phenomenon known as cellular memory was developed by academics to explain characteristic and behavioral changes in organ transplant recipients.

Proponents believe that each human cell has a soul or spirit that has a memory. In a transplant, doctors take care of the mechanical side of the organ and the donor's cells' "memories" survive in the recipient.

There are several cases of cellular memory. A seven-year-old girl had vivid nightmares about a child's murder after being given the heart of the murder victim. The specific details of the nightmares helped to convict the murderer (so the story goes). A woman craved beer and KFC after her lung/heart transplant - the favorite foods of her donor. A man became an accomplished artist after receiving the heart of a scenic artist. The stories (more here) are compelling, but is it valid?

The only case recognized by the scientific community is a 15-year-old Australian girl, whose blood type changed following a liver transplant.

Can consciousness survive a physical death? Are there memories in the organs?

We'll know if the person who receives my donated heart finds my keys.

Tags: [Cellular Memory]  [Organ Transplant]
[Paul Pearsall]  [Claire Sylvia]  [Leslie A. Takeuchi]