evolution in action

A doctor involved in an "on-again, off-again" relationship apparently tried to force her way into her boyfriend's Bakersfield, Calif., home by sliding down the chimney, police said Tuesday. Her decomposing body was found there three days later.

Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, first tried to get into the house with a shovel, then climbed a ladder to the roof last Wednesday night, removed the chimney cap and slid feet first down the flue, Bakersfield police Sgt. Mary DeGeare said.

While she was trying to break in, the man she was pursuing left from another exit "to avoid a confrontation," authorities said.

more at NPR

too much? or just right?

The ultimate dessert..



twigged by Mental Floss

slip, sliding away

If only the commute downtown could always be this much fun.

Thousands of people — at least those who are at least 48 inches tall — descended this past weekend into the low-lying center of Grand Rapids, Mich., for a free trip on what promoters believe is the world's longest inflatable water slide. The puffy blue-and-yellow slide is about 500 feet long, stretching about three city blocks. It carried participants on an elevation drop estimated at 100 feet.

The megaslide is the brainchild of Rob Bliss, a 21-year-old maestro of social media. It is the latest of about a dozen public events he has conceived and publicized via Facebook, drawing dozens to thousands of participants to downtown Grand Rapids.

Bliss' first event was a pillow fight in 2008 that drew more than 1,000, according to The Grand Rapids Press. Next, the call went out for zombies. About 4,000 arrived.

The goal of each event, he said, is "creating a unique moment in time and reimagining what a downtown space can be used for."

The slide's builders say the $30,000 contraption can last about 20 years with good maintenance and careful storage, so the plan is to reinflate it annually.

The Denver Post

see, one vote does count...

The New York Daily

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Schumer supplied the only voice Thursday as the Senate passed by voice vote a $600 million border security bill seen as a down payment on immigration reform

But Republicans quickly mocked the security bill they supported and said they don't trust President Obama's broader reform effort that might provide a path to citizenship for immigrants.

Since Republicans had already signed off on approving the bill by unanimous consent, the Senate invoked a rarely used procedure to avoid bringing members back to vote during a summer recess.

Schumer was the only senator on the floor for the voice vote while Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) was the presiding officer. Schumer had to set up his own lectern to speak because Senate pages were also on recess.

The border security bill calls the Republicans' bluff, Schumer said, "because it pulls away their No. 1 excuse, which is we can't do comprehensive [reform] until there is border change. Certainly we were getting nowhere the old way.

"And this new law will also strengthen our partnership with Mexico in targeting the gangs and criminal organizations that operate on both sides of our shared border," Schumer said.

The bill will fund hiring for 1,500 border and customs agents, set up forward bases for the agents along the border and boost the number of unarmed drones flown on the U.S. side of the border to track illegals attempting to sneak across.

Schumer said the bill will be paid for by raising fees on foreign-based companies that use U.S. visa programs, including the popular H-1B program, to bring skilled workers into the U.S.

Obama, who was expected to sign the bill Friday, said it "answers my call" for tighter border security and "will make an important difference" in the battle for overall reform.

there is of course a dissenting opinion...

But Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said the bill "seems more like an effort to receive positive press than to genuinely improve the critical border situation."

"The Masters of the Universe in Washington are always proposing new plans to deal with the massive illegality at the border," Sessions said, but they then fail to put them into effect.

Mr. Sessions, elected in 1994, yes, 16 years ago, in Alabama, a state with as far as I can tell, not a lot of border issues to deal with...

Oh, wait...

Florida.

But that whole Masters of the Universe in Washington stuff.. 

Man, you've been there for 16 friggin' years...

no,, really?!?!

Austin Police have discovered something new ....

Austin police said Tuesday that they've seen people try to hide drugs in just about anything. Just last week, senior patrol officer Jared Manning said, he found painkillers inside a fake battery.

At a news conference Tuesday, Manning showed off other innocuous-looking objects in which police have discovered narcotics, including a Dr Pepper can that had a pill bottle glued inside.

Police also have found drugs in an altered WD-40 oil can and a dictionary that had been hollowed out with a key-locked box inside, Manning said. These drug-concealing containers are made at home or bought online or at local novelty shops, he said.

 Really!!...Wow !!!

I'm sure this kind of super Hi-tech, James Bond type stuff never,never happened before....


Austin American Statesman

notice that my fingers do not leave my hand...

.
Abracadabra .. Hocus Pocus

Gov. Hair's latest attempt to... I'm not really sure what he trying to do...

read on...

Gov. Rick Perry wants the White House to make a better offer on talking with Texas about border security.

A National Security Council briefing? Not good enough.

Perry said Tuesday that he declined a border-security briefing from the security council — a high-level panel chaired by President Barack Obama and key Cabinet members — because he "doesn't need to meet with some more down-level staff people."

Austin American Statesman

Whahhhh?!?! 

Well, after all,he has been the Governor of a state that while he has attended numerous meetings and events outside Texas, High School graduation rates have dropped to 71.9% (39th in the nation), children living in poverty has increased by 5%, and citizens who have no health insurance has risen to over 24 % (2007 figures)*!

*BTW the next worst state is Florida. Whose Gov. is not conservative enough for the GOP. Go figure.

Enough is enough!!!