Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Lightning Zapped Car Won't Turn Off After Key Removed From Ignition
An Idaho man survived his car being hit by lightning in a storm that caused his SUV to go haywire and keep running after the key removed from the ignition.
"My first thought was, 'Someone over there just got hit or someone right behind us,'" he said.
When he tried to stop, he realized that his brakes were gone
"I still didn't know it was me," he said. "I thought, 'Okay, I'll just steer over there.' But the steering was out and I looked at the dash and lights are flickering."
It was at this point that he came to a terrifying realization.
"You've got to be kidding me. It was me that got hit by lightning," he recalled thinking. "The next 10 minutes were the most terrifying because I was helpless. The lightning was still coming down... and I couldn't go anywhere."
Strangely enough, the car's ignition kept running even without the keys in the car and two diagonal tires blew out.
"I'm just glad to be here," he said with a sigh of relief.
Rush Limbaugh's STUPID Ass Obama/Batman Conspiracy Theory
RUSH: Have you heard this new movie, the Batman movie, what is it, The Dark Knight Lights Up or whatever the name is. That's right, Dark Knight Rises. Lights Up, same thing. Do you know the name of the villain in this movie? Bane. The villain in The Dark Knight Rises is named Bane, B-a-n-e. What is the name of the venture capital firm that Romney ran and around which there's now this make-believe controversy? Bain. The movie has been in the works for a long time. The release date's been known, summer 2012 for a long time. Do you think that it is accidental that the name of the really vicious fire breathing four eyed whatever it is villain in this movie is named Bane?It might strike some as odd that Limbaugh would direct his vitriol toward a movie franchise whose wealthy vigilante hero arguably contradicts a number of progressive ideals -- even once using a form warrantless wiretapping to nab a villain. Limbaugh does acknowledge that the Bane character sounds more "like an Occupy Wall Street guy" than the financial engineers one might find at Bain Capital. He also points to a Washington Times Communities post that compares Batman to Mitt Romney. Nonetheless, Limbaugh spends several minutes pivoting between a heated critique of Barack Obama and an equally heated dissection of what he sees as the new Batman film's ulterior political motives.
So, anyway, this evil villain in the new Batman movie is named Bane. And there's now a discussion out there as to whether or not this is purposeful and whether or not it will influence voters. It's gonna have a lot of people. This movie, the audience is gonna be huge. A lot of people are gonna see the movie, and it's a lot of brain-dead people, entertainment, the pop culture crowd, and they're gonna hear Bane in the movie and they're gonna associate Bain. The thought is that when they start paying attention to the campaign later in the year, and Obama and the Democrats keep talking about Bain, Romney and Bain, that these people will think back to the Batman movie, "Oh, yeah, I know who that is." (laughing) There are some people who think it'll work. Others think you're really underestimating the American people to think that will work."You may think it's ridiculous," Limbaugh added in summation. "I'm just telling you this is the kind of stuff the Obama team is lining up."
Bane, who first appeared in comic-book form in 1993, was also featured in one previous Batman film, "Batman & Robin." His inclusion in the "The Dark Knight Rises" was announced early in 2011, at which point Mitt Romney was just one of many Republicans vying for his party's nomination.
White House: No Marijuana for PTSD
WASHINGTON – An effort to persuade the Obama administration to legalize marijuana for sufferers of post-traumatic stress was met with rejection from the White House.
"When the President took office, he directed all his policymakers to develop policies on science and research, not ideology or politics," Kerlikowske wrote.
The White House usually requires 25,000 signatures before it will respond to such petitions.
The "Allow United States Disabled Military Veterans Access To Medical Marijuana To Treat Their PTSD" petition was launched last year by former Air Force sergeant Mike Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access.
Krawitz said he launched the drive partially out of concern that veterans sometimes risk losing their Veterans Affairs Department medical coverage if they are found to smoke pot.
"For many, cannabis not only treats PTSD, it's a lifesaver," Krawitz told Military Times in October.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes, but it remains illegal under federal law.
The Obama administration has held steadfast in enforcing federal laws applicable to medical marijuana production, sales and distribution. Kerlikowske said the administration maintains that marijuana use is associated with cognitive impairment, respiratory illnesses and addiction.
"We know from an array of treatment admission information and federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms," he wrote.
He added that the administration supports research on the phytochemicals in marijuana that might have medicinal value.
Apps You Should Delete Immediately
By Brad Marshland | Upgrade Your Life – 6 hrs ago
You've got a ton of great apps on your phone, but some are now defunct, obsolete, or have much better alternatives. They can bog down your phone in ways you may not even realize — so some apps, you should get rid of immediately.
Why Delete Apps?
Four reasons:
Why Delete Apps?
Four reasons:
- Apps take up space on your phone, which may not seem like a big deal if you have a ton of storage, but they can add up and may even put a drain on your phone's speed.
- Hanging onto apps you don't use make your phone disorganized, and it will be harder to find the app you're looking for.
- If you're not using an app because it crashes or is buggy, by all means get rid of it. Poorly written apps can suck system resources and bog down your phone.
- If you're not using a particular app, why give it all those permissions to access your data?
Plus, deleting an app off your phone doesn't mean you'd have to buy it again if you change your mind. iTunes and the Google Play store remember what you've purchased and won't charge you to reinstall.
How To Delete An App On Your Phone
- On iPhones, hold your finger on the icon until it jiggles, then hit the X appears on the icon's corner to remove it.
- On Android phones, hit the Menu button, then the Edit or Manage Apps button, then select the program you want to delete.
Apps to Delete
There's a rule that if you don't wear something for a year, it's time to give it to Goodwill. Same rule applies for apps: If you haven't used it for a year… ditch it. So while your closet may look nothing like mine, my delete list might just give you some ideas as to where to start:
- First, the Borders app. The company is out of business, and while you may still read ebooks through their KOBO service, KOBO has its own stand-alone app that's updated and has more features.
- Urban Spoon. It seemed so quaint when it first came out. It used your location, you dialed in some parameters — Italian, not too expensive — and then it seemed to spit out a random selection. But I don't trust it for recommendations. Instead, I use the Yelp app, with its real reviews from real people.
- Socialcam. Not only do the videos on Socialcam seem to lack any professional standards, users are often unaware that their potentially embarrassing views are being shared with their friends and work colleagues.
- QR code reader. I've had a reader on my phone for 3 years and I have yet to scan a QR code for any real purpose.
- MySpace. I seriously can't remember the last time anyone I know posted on this.
- Kids' games. These apps are usually age specific, so when your youngest grows out of an app, delete it. Chances are, he's not going to want to play Tozzle or Dinosaur Train when he's 9. And if he does, you can always reinstall.
Four Things Car Thieves Love to See
Car theft is on the decline--and today, the chances that your vehicle will be stolen are lower than any time in the past 15 years.The FBI estimates that in 2010, some 737,142 vehicles were stolen in the U.S., a drop of more than 7 percent from the year before. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports the more of the same: it says that in 2009, car theft fell more than 21 percent, to an average of 1.33 vehicles stolen per 1,000.
But while anti-theft systems and marked car parts have made it harder to steal cars and sell the pieces, it's still far too common a crime in many cities--especially in California, which counts seven of the top 10 cities for car theft, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. As quickly as carmakers and drivers take preventative measures, professional theft rings and chop shops work to defeat them.
The most sophisticated crooks may have an upper hand, but some simple prevention can keep you and your car from falling victim to casual thieves. Many cars get stolen or vandalized because their owners didn't take the most basic precautions like locking up, never leaving it running, and never leaving the keys in it.
Beyond the obvious, it's all about eliminating the other clear signs that your car is there for the taking. When car thieves are looking for their next score, these are four things they love to see:
1) Easy targets. Cars parked in dark, isolated, or otherwise concealed areas are excellent choices for the aspiring car thief. But so do vehicles that show obvious signs of neglect: a collection of parking tickets, for example, or just a coat of road dust, anything that suggests the owner hasn't been on the scene in a while. If you're going to park your vehicle for an extended period, leave it somewhere attended--or disable it by removing the battery to make a quick getaway impossible.
2) Popular late-model cars. The list of most-stolen cars is topped by perennial best-sellers like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Impala, and Ford F-150. Some more exotic cars may have higher theft rates, but these mainstream victims of theft arise from a set of factors: the black market for parts, the ease of breaking into them, and the anonymity of driving off in one from the scene of the crime. If you own one, the usual precautions apply, but additional protection might not just be a good idea, it may also reduce your insurance rates.
3) Cars with no visible, activated alarm system. Real-time vehicle tracking systems such as GM's OnStar and aftermarket services like LoJack are the bane of thieves, but most luxury cars and even many mass-market vehicles come with basic anti-theft systems. They don't pose much of an obstacle if they're not activated, though. If you have a vehicle with such a system, make sure it's armed when you walk away.
4) Electronics and their tell-tale cords. Portable music players, laptops, tablets, even radar detectors--they're all easily and quickly lifted from exposed vehicles. They can also easily be wiped of identifying information and resold. Even the presence of charging cables may be enough to tell a casual vandal that it's worth getting into your car to go through the glovebox and armrest to see if you've stashed a phone or an iPod there. Do yourself a favor: tuck away the cables, and secure anything you'd rather not lose in the trunk--or carry it with you, rather than leaving it behind for prying eyes with prying tools.
Teen Dies After Playing Video Game 40 Hours Straight
The 18-year-old lad is believed to have collapsed during a marathon session of Diablo 3.
He was found by workers in the internet café in Tainan, southern Taiwan.
It is believed he had not eaten for two days.
The gamer has so far only been identified by his surname, Chuang.
On the morning of July 15, an attendant entered the room and found Chuang resting on a table. After the attendant woke him, he stood, took a few steps and then collapsed, reports said.
He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital.
Police were investigating the cause of death, and an autopsy was being carried out.
It has been speculated that sitting for long hours in a sedentary position created cardiovascular problems for Chuang.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Study: People Who Are Constantly Online Can Develop Mental Disorders
CHARLOTTE (CBS Charlotte) — Get off that computer. A new study finds that constantly being online can affect your mental health.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg recently studied more than 4,100 Swedish men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 for a year and found that a majority of them who constantly use a computer and mobile phones can develop stress, sleeping disorders and depression.
Sara Thomee, lead author of the study, said there was a “central link” between computers and mental disorders.
“High quantitative use was a central link between computer use and stress, sleep disturbances, and depression, described by the young adults,” Thomee said in the study. “It was easy to spend more time than planned at the computer (e.g., working, gaming, or chatting), and this tended to lead to time pressure, neglect of other activities and personal needs (such as social interaction, sleep, physical activity), as well as bad ergonomics, and mental overload.”
The study found a correlation between stress and always being available on the phone.
Even people who played video games online faced a greater risk of suffering from depression.
“Daily computer gaming for 1–2 hours meant an increased risk for symptoms of depression in the women,” the study found. “Often using the computer late at 48 night (and consequently losing sleep) was a prospective risk factor for stress and sleep disturbances, including reduced performance, in both sexes.”
Thomee concluded that people need to set limits on computer and cell phone use and limit their own demands on their availability as to not suffer from these types of mental disorders.
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/study-people-who-are-constantly-online-can-develop-mental-disorders/
Man Claims ‘World’s Largest Penis’ Got Him Frisked At SFO
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A man famous for having one of the largest penises on record said he was frisked by TSA agents at San Francisco International Airport after they suspected he was hiding something in his pants, according to his Twitter account.New York native Jonah Falcon, 41, reported on July 9th that he was returning from a weekend in San Francisco when he was delayed by TSA agents who became curious about the bulge in his pants.
“TSA didn’t know what to make of the massive bulge on my thigh. Even after I went through that body scanner that shows you naked,” Falcon said on his Twitter page.
According to online reports, Falcon’s penis is nearly 10 inches long when flaccid, and more than 13 inches long when erect. Online articles suggest it is the largest ever recorded.
On his Facebook page he lists his favorite quote as, “Yes, it really is that big. See, you can fit more than three hands on it.”
Falcon said he said he was subjected to both a metal detector and a body scanner before being selected for additional screening. He said he was eventually released and allowed to catch his flight.
“Two hour delay…Fun trip home (sarcasm mode),” he tweeted.
Falcon has worked as a gaming journalist and actor. He lists several television and film credits, and was featured in a 1999 HBO documentary profiling men with large penises.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/man-claims-worlds-largest-penis-got-him-frisked-at-sfo/
Monday, July 16, 2012
Ohio High School Kingpin Arrested in Major Drug Bust
Ohio police have arrested an alleged drug kingpin, a 17-year-old accused of running a multimillion dollar ring that distributed high-grade marijuana through two school districts and netted $20,000 a month.
When cops raided the boy's bedroom at his parents' home, they found over $6,000 in cash, prosecutors said.
Authorities have not released the student's name, because he was a 16-year-old minor at the time he committed the alleged drug deals. Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said the boy will be tried as juvenile.
Cops first became aware of a high-grade hydroponic strain of marijuana being sold for $350-$400 an ounce in the Mason school district near Cincinnati last year. An undercover agent began making buys at Mason High School, where the teenager was a student, and uncovered a dealing operation headed by the arrested student.
"The undercover officer uncovered six students or former students working for that individual and trafficking drugs in two school districts," Fornshell told ABC News.
"The group supplied an overwhelming amount of marijuana in the Mason and King school districts," Fornshell said.
The marijuana previously sold in the areas was a lower-grade variety smuggled into the U.S. through the border, but the weed they began seeing last year was a much more expensive product.
The student helped lead cops to uncover a major grow operation, run by locals out of warehouses and other buildings in three nearby towns.
Six other adult individuals were ultimately arrested for their role in growing and distributing the drug.
Authorities seized 600 plants from the three grow houses, with an estimated street value of $3 million.
All of the individuals have been indicted by a grand jury, but have yet to be arraigned or enter pleas.
Woman Accuses Zimmerman of Child Molestation
A woman identified only as Witness 9 tearfully told Florida authorities investigating George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen that he molested her for 10 years, starting when she was 6, according to a new round of evidence released Monday.
The woman, who was not a witness to the killing of Trayvon Martin, made her explosive statement to investigators for the state attorney in March, a month after the shooting.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon, 17, who was walking from a store to the home of his father's fiancée. The two got into an altercation that ended with the teen's death on Feb. 26.
He is out on $1 million bond. A judge had revoked his previous $150,000 bond in June when prosecutors showed that Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, tried to hide their assets from the court.
The woman's 27-minute recorded interview is part of evidence released by prosecutor Angela Corey's office.
The woman, who said she is a relative of Zimmerman, recounts incidents that she said began when she was 6 and he was 8. She said the sexual abuse began when she and her sister went to stay with Zimmerman and his family.
She said Zimmerman assaulted her numerous times, groping her with his hands, kissing her, fondling her inside her pants and inserting his fingers in her vagina.
"I wanted to make it stop, but I didn't know how," the woman tearfully told investigators. She said she never said anything about the alleged abuse because she was scared.
Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, had argued that the interview should not be released. O'Mara wrote in a motion that the statement "is not relevant" to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and would "serve to reignite and potentially enhance the widespread public hostility toward Mr. Zimmerman."
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, said her family and Zimmerman's family were always together.
She said the last incident occurred when she was 16 and they were both in a house his family owned in Lake Mary, Fla. She said he told her to lay on a bed, then laid down next to her and tried to massage her. She said they were clothed, but she said she felt his erection. She said she ran out of the room and house.
The woman said that in 2005, when she was 20, she told her sister that "something happened," but didn't provide details. Her sister told her parents, who confronted Zimmerman. At the time, he allegedly said, "I'm sorry," but they never discussed it further, she said.
Zimmerman's family wanted to sweep everything under the rug, the woman said. The families still got together, but she said Zimmerman stopped attending many of those functions.
She said she came forward now because, "For the first time in my life, I'm not afraid of him."
Attorney Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the Martin family, said Monday "as the state attorney previously stated, she (witness 9) certainly would be a rebuttal witness very similar to that in the Sandusky trial showing that he (Zimmerman) has a history of violence and manipulation. Zimmerman's mentality is very relevant to this trial."
The woman told Sanford police in a telephone interview released in May that Zimmerman and his family are racist against blacks. In that interview, she refused to identify herself.
"Growing up he and his family always made statements that they did not like black people unless they act white," she told police.
But she said she never saw Zimmerman do anything specific that showed he was racist.
Recordings released Monday included 145 phone calls Zimmerman had while in jail.
In one conversation Zimmerman spoke with an unidentified person who told him that Zimmerman's friend and defender Frank Taaffe said that "he has an interested party" who was willing to pay for his legal defense as long as Jose Baez was co-counsel.
Baez represented Casey Anthony, the Florida woman who was tried and acquitted in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, last summer.
Zimmerman quotes O'Mara as saying, "if you want him to be co-counsel just have him be your counsel because I will excuse myself."
Zimmerman in the recording said, "I told him no, absolutely not."
Contributing: Natalie DiBlasio and Yamiche Alcindor
Pot-Smoking Moms Tired of Being Judged by Wine Drinking Moms...
Every night, Margaret’s two boys fly into the house after sports practice and flip on the TV, while she races to the kitchen to get dinner cooking. “It’s that tedious witching hour when I feel incredibly frazzled,” says the Tennessee singer/songwriter mom of a 6- and an 8-year-old. But instead of pouring herself a glass or two of merlot, she heads to the standalone garage next to their house for a few puffs of Humboldt Kush, one of the four strains of pot she smokes seven days a week.
The drug helps her keep focus on the giant statue of popsicle sticks she’s building with her kids and relaxes her so she can get through the rest of the night without stressing. “It can make folding a pile of laundry fun,” says Margaret, 45, who asked that we not use her last name for fear of getting in trouble with the law. “If I didn’t smoke, that’d be three piles later in the week.”
Still, she doesn’t flaunt her marijuana use. Her sons aren’t allowed to go into the room where she keeps the drugs locked up, and she hides it from other moms who would keep their kids away if they knew she smoked pot.
“Being judged for doing something nontoxic and totally organic, enjoying a god-given plant, by moms who suck back two bottles of Chardonnay like sports drinks feels like s---,” complains Margaret. “Any hypocrisy is hard to swallow. A drunk mother is pathetic and I often leave parties when I experience other mothers tying one on.”
Margaret isn’t the only pot-smoking mom tired of being judged by moms who religiously drink glasses of wine or “mommy juice.” Recently, one mom stirred up some controversy when she admitted to parenting while stoned in an essay on Jezebel.com. Today, the group Moms for Marijuana International has more than 18,000 likes on Facebook.
“No matter what you use, you shouldn’t be judged if it works for you, you’re productive, and you do no harm,” says Diane Fornbacher, co-vice chair of the Women’s Alliance at NORML, the non-profit lobbying organization working to legalize marijuana. “Marijuana parents aren’t perfect, but they’re far less imperfect than parents who use alcohol irresponsibly. Cannabis can influence people to be nicer to one another. You rarely find a story that says two stoners beat each other up outside of a bar.”
Sharon Letts, a California mom who brewed Cannabis tea for her 16-year-old daughter when she was stricken with pain from fibromyalgia, agrees. “Cannabis takes the edge off your day, in the same way wine does. But it’s not addictive, it is habitual. It doesn’t ruin your body like alcohol. I would much rather see parents using cannabis than alcohol — hands down.”
Of course, pot is illegal and alcohol is legal. Letts and her daughter felt paranoid that the tea’s smell would alert their neighbors. The price for getting caught is high. In some states, moms risk getting arrested and incarcerated, as well as having their kids taken away from them.
“If I wanted to, I could sit with a glass of wine in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, with a cigarette pressed between my lips, under the influence of prescription narcotics — all the while holding my child in my lap,” says Serra Frank, founding director of Moms for Marijuana and mother of two, ages 9 and 12.
“Everywhere we look our families are bombarded with advertisements for these drugs. Our societies benefit from taxes placed on the manufacture and sale of these drugs. Yet, we can’t make the decision to choose one of the most commonly used drugs, one that has proven to be much safer than all the rest? That’s just not logical.”
Whether a mom chooses wine or pot to take the edge off her day, how she uses the drug is important to consider.
“Is she smoking while taking care of an infant, in front of teenage children, or sharing it with her children?” asks Nancy Day, an epidemiologist and professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. “It is also critical to know whether she is pregnant or not, as we know that marijuana use during pregnancy affects the central nervous system development of the fetus. Additionally, since marijuana is still an illicit substance, has she considered the message she is giving to her children?”
Mothers should know that there are some health concerns for children specific to marijuana use, says Day, beyond the effects of prenatal exposure on the fetus. The children of moms who smoke are more likely to use marijuana and to start use earlier. And kids who start using marijuana before age 16 have a higher rate of psychiatric disorders, as well as other behavioral problems.
A mom should be concerned and look for help if she finds herself using marijuana more often than she used to, needs marijuana to function on a daily basis, chooses to smoke rather than doing other things, spends money on marijuana that might better be used for something else, or if she can't quit, says Day. The same goes for parents who use alcohol.
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