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It is definitely amazing that some photographers can "see", whereas I am only "looking".
Really nice picture.
Several of the pics you post, I save and use as display wallpaper on my computer. You keep me well supplied.
He'd thrown his hands up in a submissive manner. Non threatening gesture. He was headed to the other vehicle to establish rapport and check for injuries. He was definitely caught off guard and totally dumbfounded by the attack. Claimed to have received a couple lumps on the noggin and a krink in the neck.
When I heard the voicemail, I pictured the old Laugh In tv show sketches of Ruth Buzzi as the hair netted old lady swinging her big purse, slugging Arte Johnson, the dirty old man.
Coast to Coast AM with George Noory had the motorist on the air a couple weeks back...the guy who ran the light. He claims that he had his brakes worked on recently and experienced total brake failure. Obviously faulty repair.
The guy called right after Noory played the voicemail.
From EZtradin Picks
#msg-5648538 by "Rigatoni"
~AMLS, One reason I am accumulating....
Do the DD...
http://www.amersin.com/
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsbird064167015mar06,0,2970875.story
Sunday, March 6, 2005
BIRD FLU OUTBREAK
Global Threat
Experts say deadly virus presents grave risk if we don't 'get our act together'
BY BRYN NELSON
STAFF WRITER
March 6, 2005
The disaster could begin with little more than an infected duck, a promiscuous virus and a well-timed sneeze.
Where it would end remains less certain, but the growing alarm over a disease known as avian influenza owes much to the peculiar properties of a virus quickly expanding its domain far beyond birds.
On its surface, each strain of influenza virus is stippled with different combinations of two main proteins, abbreviated H and N.
Some of these combinations are seen only in wild birds or poultry. Many produce only mild symptoms. But the H5N1 strain that has killed at least 46 people within the past 14 months and forced the slaughter of more than 140 million birds hadn't previously been seen in humans for at least a century, meaning that no one alive today is immune.
It is, scientists say, one of the worst combinations of all.
"I would say in my lifetime, this is the most threatening time I've ever seen, and I've spent my lifetime studying the flu," said Robert Webster, head of virology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.
Webster, an avian influenza expert who has long warned of the potential for a worldwide flu epidemic, or pandemic, now finds himself surrounded by a growing chorus of agreement.
Dr. Shigeru Omi, the World Health Organization's Western Pacific regional director, sounded one of the latest alarms at a conference last month in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to assess the threat of a viral disease commonly called the bird flu.
"We at WHO believe that the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic," Omi told attendees, echoing comments earlier in the week by Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Speaking in Washington, D.C., at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference, Gerberding characterized the virus as "the most important threat that we are facing right now."
She and other CDC officials later sought to downplay suggestions that the world is on the brink of a pandemic, stressing that no evidence has emerged to suggest that the H5N1 strain has achieved the ability to spread easily from person to person - a vital step in its transformation into a swift and proficient killer.
In January, the WHO released a 62-page report on the threat, commending researchers, health officials and governments for improving preparations for such an eventuality.
But the report and independent experts suggest there is still ample reason to be worried about a disease that once did little more than ruffle a few feathers in domestic chickens.
"I'm very concerned, because the virus is endemic in a large part of Asia and has the possibility of either mutating or recombining, re-assorting with human influenza viruses," said Dr. Thijs Kuiken, a veterinary pathologist at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
The longer the H5N1 virus remains in circulation, health officials say, the graver the risk for catastrophe. In rural parts of Asia, poultry and other livestock are often housed together on land next to homes, meaning that human and avian flu strains could join forces to create a potent global assassin.
Most researchers have been loath to make death toll predictions for a potential H5N1 pandemic, citing the sheer unpredictability of the virus. But estimates have ranged from "best-case scenarios" of 2 million to 7.4 million, to "considerably worse" scenarios surpassing the estimated 1918-1919 pandemic toll of 40 million from "Spanish flu."
For a flu outbreak to become a pandemic, three conditions must be met:
A type A virus strain must arise with H and N proteins to which few, if any, people have acquired immunity.
Second, the virus must infect humans and be able to replicate easily - the process that leads to a severe disease.
And third, the virus must be easily spread from person to person in prolonged chains of casual contact.
The H5N1 strain already has achieved the first two requirements. When, or whether, it will meet the third remains anyone's guess, but Webster said the world needs to "get our act together" - and soon.
"It's going to happen sooner or later, probably sooner rather than later," he said. "The virus is making these changes, it's going from being pathogenic in domestic, terrestrial poultry to becoming pathogenic in waterfowl, and it's spread to tigers and domestic cats." The latter two animals were previously thought to be resistant to the virus, but research has shown that they too can fall seriously ill. Webster's group discovered they could experimentally infect ferrets with the virus as well, rapidly causing diarrhea, hind leg paralysis and death.
"Everything it does is rather frightening," he said.
Until 1997, only two people had ever fallen ill from the bird flu. In that year, however, a formerly mild version of the H5N1 strain mysteriously emerged in Hong Kong as a deadly disease - for both chickens and humans. Within a matter of weeks, 18 people had fallen ill.
Six of them died.
A slaughter of the city's 1.5 million birds over three days has been credited with averting a potential human health disaster.
But the virus didn't go away.
Beginning in late 2003, a more deadly version again washed over Asia, leading to poultry outbreaks in eight countries and a combined culling of at least 140 million birds in a desperate effort to control the outbreak.
But unlike in Hong Kong, those efforts may have come too late. Health officials are increasingly convinced that the virus is entrenched in poultry populations scattered throughout Thailand and Vietnam.
Over the past 14 months, successive waves of the H5N1 strain have unofficially infected 66 people, all but one in Vietnam or Thailand. So far, 46 of them have died, for a mortality rate of 70 percent. But recent reports have raised concerns that health officials may be missing even more cases.
Although no evidence of efficient person-to-person spread has emerged, experts believe some patients may have fallen ill not from contacting infected poultry but from prolonged exposure to an infected relative.
And there's something else: Last year, the average age of bird flu patients in Thailand was 20. In Vietnam, it was 15.
Close contact between poultry and children or young adults may be one explanation. But doctors also are seeing an exaggerated immune response in some cases - meaning a robust immune system may go overboard, worsening the illness.
"Why are some people susceptible? There has to be a genetic basis for it, but we don't have any knowledge of that yet," Webster said.
Last summer, Kuiken and other scientists at the Erasmus Medical Center made another surprising discovery. By infecting domestic cats with the H5N1 strain, they induced severe viral pneumonia in many of cats, as well as limited cat-to-cat spread of the virus.
Studies confirmed that leopards and tigers in a Thai zoo and reserve also had fallen ill after eating infected chicken carcasses - an indication the virus "produces disease in a greater range of species" than previous strains, Kuiken said.
Yet another species has been fingered as a "silent" viral reservoir: ducks.
"The ducks, the ducks, the ducks are the key to the whole damned thing," Webster agreed. Ducks, which are "everywhere in the south of Vietnam,"he said, have been shown to excrete large amounts of the virus through their feces, compounding the risk to humans who come into contact with it. Unlike chickens, however, most ducks have been symptom-free, meaning they could pass on the infection undetected.
If there is hope for dealing with the gathering threat, Webster said it may come from the place where it all began. Last year, he said, "there was no bird flu in Hong Kong, and it was all around it. They've cleaned up their act."
Domestic chickens are now vaccinated and twice a month the markets close for a thorough scrubbing. Webster said the efforts are a model for other nations.
"And they have had no bird flu, but unfortunately, the world hasn't shouted about that fact," he said.
Elsewhere, contingency plans are gathering steam. In the United States, health officials are scrambling to test an experimental vaccine against the H5N1 strain, based on an inactivated version of the virus from a Vietnamese patient. Clinical trials beginning this month will involve 4,000 volunteers.
But even if a vaccine proves safe and effective, how easily can the vaccine industry meet a global demand that could exceed hundreds of millions or billions of doses?
In the event of U.S. shortages, officials say an ethics panel to the CDC may determine who would receive vaccines first.
Other tests by the CDC have shown that the H5N1 strain is resistant to two of the four drugs cited as potential prophylactic or treatment options - leaving the less readily available and more expensive compounds oseltamivir and zanamivir (marketed as Tamiflu and Relenza, respectively) as the best options in a national stockpile.
So far, the United States has stockpiled enough oseltamivir for about 2.3 million people.
For now, experts say, the best approach may be to prepare for a reality that many foresee in the near future. In a post-9/11 world, the idea of imminent danger and pre-emptive action is finding a more receptive audience.
At a bio-security conference earlier this week in Lyon, France, Webster said he told attendees: "The greatest bio-terrorist at the moment is Mother Nature brewing something."
No one, he said, disagreed.
The avian flu
In 1997, a strain of bird flu known as H5N1 emerged in Hong Kong, killing chickens-and six humans. In the past year, the same viral strain has infected humans and poultry alike across Southeast Asia, raising fears of a global flu epidemic, or pandemic, that could kill millions.
WHAT A PANDEMIC REQUIRES:
1. A virus emerges to which the general population has little or no immunity.
2. The virus can replicate in humans and cause serious illness.
3. The virus can be easily spread among humans.
The current avian strain has met the first two criteria.
A few humans are believed to have spread it to other humans, but there is no evidence that the virus is easily spread.
MANY POSSIBILITIES
Flu viruses get their names from two sets of protein spikes that jut from the surface of the virus - the hemagglutinin, or H, spike and the neuraminidase, or N, spike.
There are 15 H subtypes, designated H1 to H15, and nine N subtypes, designated N1 to N9. The current avian flu strain is made up of H5 and N1; hence, the flu's name is H5N1. The unpredictability of how the two protein spikes will match up is why creating a vaccine causes headaches for health officials.
PANDEMICS AND ANIMALS
Flu pandemics often begin in Asia because many people tend to be in close contact with their food sources, meaning the virus is more easily transmitted. Humans can get the flu from animals by eating raw meat, handling the animals or coming into contact with their feces.
1918-19
The "Spanish flu' pandemic killed 40 million people or more worldwide, including more than 650,000 Americans. The origins of the strain, known as H1N1, remain hotly debated.
1957
The "Asian flu' pandemic killed an estimated 2 million people or more globally and about 70,000 in the United States. That milder strain, H2N2, is thought to be the product of a recombination between separate human and avian flu strains.
1968
The "Hong Kong flu' pandemic killed about 1 million people worldwide and 34,000 in the United States. The strain, H3N2, was again likely formed through a recombination of human and avian strains.
The next one?
The avian flu strain currently in Asia, H5N1, is known to have infected such animals as chickens, ducks, hawks and other wild birds, and tigers and leopards. In experiments, scientists have successfully infected cats and ferrets. Most infected ducks have shown no symptoms, meaning they could spread the virus unbeknownst to human observers.
THE FLU VIRUS
Have a good day all~
~Rig
That big filter looks like a little overkill for the home unit. The pic is of one in an industrial environment, but doesn't look to cost a lot to build.
Those are good cleaning tips; should be done regularly.
StarTech offers fan filters to keep the filth down.
http://www.startech.com/ProductSpecs/FANFILTER12.htm
http://accessories.gateway.com/AccessoryStore/PC+Accessories_316441/PC+Components_316805/Computer+Co...
Wanna go whole hog on filtering incoming air?
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1092/
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1092/Done.jpg
Now that's funny. eom
One of my favorite lines in the Bible is:
"Be still, and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10
When anxious, it brings calm.
I had also heard a news blip while the flight was in progress. The reporter claimed Fossett was churning along about 400 mph. Haven't been able to yet find actual airspeed figure and the ground speed of course would vary with the winds aloft.
67-hour, 23,000-mile
approximate average ground speed 343.28 mph
Good one. LOL
[edit] I'm still amazed the White House had residents from Arkansas named Hill 'n Billy.
I'm enjoying watching this stock lately. Been in for a few years now. Looks like patience pays here.
Work, work, work; then lurk, lurk, lurk.
Usually don't get around to the computer 'til late evening. Today is a little slow, so I'm goofing off a bit.
Are you saying that "you get what you pay for?" LOL
DGA, from BB's Penny Haven:
#msg-5088666
Posted by: Rager
In reply to: None
Date:1/12/2005 11:13:34 AM
Post #of 218737
MM Signals (with a grain of salt, fwiw)......
a-Signals between MMs...
100 > I need shares
200 > I need shares badly but dont take it down to get em
300 > Take the price down to get shares....
400 > Trade it sideways based on Supply and Demand
500 > Gap one way or the other, usually to the direction
of the 500 trade. Sometimes -if in the middle -keep the price right where it is.
[edit]codes can be changed anytime and also signals can be manufactured to mislead.
Borrowed from Fatty's Donut Shop (FATT):
#msg-5586608 posted by "dropdeadfred"
LMAO... read mizzelphug feedback replys
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=mizzelphug&items=25&page=1...
I respect Bono for using his celebrity status to get some world issues like AIDS in Africa, third world debt, in the faces of the powers that be. He isn't doing it because he's a celebrity; rather, he's able to do it because he is a celebrity. Status opens doors. "He recognized that other people were more expert on the political strategy and the substance, but he realized he could play a unique role in giving the cause the spiritual and popular lift he thought it deserved," says Gene Sperling, who ran President Clinton's National Economic Council
Bono cheerfully disses his own political activism: "The only thing worse than a rock star is a rock star with a conscience."
quotes from: http://slate.msn.com/id/2061087/
Doggie pic
ferrgus left this over at JOKES #msg-5559225
Thought dog lovers might enjoy it.
Can Mr Wiggles lead the "troops"?
http://www.plainjanegames.com/funstuff/dogmother.htm
may have to access from http://www.plainjanegames.com "Is it a dog, or a duck???"
That pic is cute.
Gotta wonder about some critters sometimes.
Thanks, that is good reading.
I resemble some of those remarks. LOL
It brought to mind a post from 5 years back. #msg-477 At the time, WGAT was around $40.00 and closed today a $4.22 FWIW
Market attitude.
A copy of a copy of a copy.
Posts from the Yahoo WGAT message board by a poster that
calls himself “dinner and a fine whine”
WGAT down again. It is just so unfair!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/9/00 7:46 pm
Msg: 13456 of 22370 The market goes up and WGAT goes down. The
market goes down and WGAT goes down. Why does this always happen
to me? Why doesn't this go straight up? It is not fair.Why all the buy
ratings but no buying? Why no news? Wink has news. Liberate has news.
Why don't we ever get any news? Somebody bought 25000 shares at 40
and change after the bell? what do they know that i I don't know? Why
don't I know anything? What about all these shorts. What do they know
that I don't know? Why do there have to be so many shorts anyway?
When will this MM manipulating stop anyway? Why doesn't my research
pay off. It is so unfair. WGAT shareholders having a party but I haven't
been invited. Nobody invites me anywhere. Why didn't I listen to uncle
Joe and buy more Cisco? Why did I buy so much WGAT anyway? My
wife is going to kill me. She hates me anyway. Says I complain too much.
Good product but why can't we get PR ? Nobody ever promotes my
stocks! Why did I have to pick a day when longs are so hostile to post my
first informative post on this board?. The market is just so unfair. WGAT
and my life bite.
Oh man! My wife is going to kill me!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/9/00 10:22 pm
Msg: 13477 of 22370 First I buy 4000 shares of WGAT based on
information provided by a poster who turns out to be a short. Then I buy a
computer for $1800 and now hypemaster tells us they are practically
giving them away. The people in Peru won't use WGAT because they got
free computers. They can all afford Liberate's high cost because they
have free computers. I can't afford squat because I own WGAT and
bought my computer. Why does this always happen to me?
I sold! I Shorted! I Covered! Oh God!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/10/00 8:45 pm
Msg: 13607 of 22370 Oh GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ! Why did I watch
that ticker anyway.? It went below 37 and I couldn't take it anymore. I sold
and shorted to recoup my losses. Then I had to cover and rebuy my
shares at 41. Now its at 40!Why did my trades have to go through
anyways? Where were the hackers when I needed them? Why don't the
hackers ever visit my on line broker? My broker sucks! What is going on
here? Why can't people make up there mind on this stock? Doesn't
anyone stick to their convictions anymore? Why do we have to have
uncertainty anyway?WGAT is up 1 and 13/16 and I am down another
$16000. This stock sucks!And whats with these MM's shaking people
out? Oh Man !I am going to get shook out when I get home! Man I have to
hit $51 to break even.Now slow_blood says the stock will only hit 50.
God! why did I ever buy this stock back? There will be more than slow
bleeding when my wife catches up with me. Come Midnight Tel will be
talking about Candles Cups and handles. Man the only cups handles and
candles I will see will be coming at my head. Why did I have to marry that
tempermental woman anyway? I'm tired of being the emotional rock in my
family! I better promise her a blockbuster tommorrow or I'm dead! Hal are
you listening? Oh he's not listening!Nobody ever listens to me!My life
bites. This millenium sucks!Maybe I should move to Peru where they
have all those free computers. Oh no! I can't go there thats where my
wife is from. Why does this always happen to me?
Oh NO! 8:20 and still no news!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/11/00 8:23 am
Msg: 13633 of 22370 Oh man why did I promise my wife blockbuster
news today? This is going to hurt . We are going into the toilet. I'm going
to get a margin call. I came here looking for a blockbuster.Instead all I
ever get is my wife the ballbuster. Why does this always happen to me?
Oh my God! My wife just called!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/11/00 7:27 pm
Msg: 13714 of 22370 Someone tipped her that Hal is selling 6 million
shares and she is coming straight home I tried to tell her that it was a
false alarm but she hung up. Oh god I know I should run but I can hardly
move! Why did I have to take all that valium after reading the
hypemaster's post? Man why do people keep posting this stuff? Why
don't people just post informative and helpful facts like mine? I wanted to
comment on today's action but I will have to try later if I still can. She's
coming down the hall now and she's carrying that black candlestick. Oh
man this is going to hurt! Man this board bites! My life sucks! Oh God why
does this always happen to
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Oh my god! I'm $12 from a margin call!
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/12/00 10:31 am
Msg: 13761 of 22371 Why oh why doesn't this stock go up? STRM was
up,OPTV was way up.Wink was up.Even Lbrt squeezed out a gain. But
we just went down. We always go down. This is just so unfair. My broker
says don't worry this is just profit taking.I didn't take any profits. Did you
take profits? I never get profits. All I ever get is screwed. What a bunch
of crap!This stock sucks!Conner 75 says its a dog.Partga made
reference to "this puppy". Oh great I own another dog!Dogs suck! My
wife had a dog. He hated me . We had to take him to a vet to have him
put out of his suffering.The vet offered my wife a 2 for 1 deal on me and
the dog. What was that all about? Damn dog died of natural causes by
the time I talked my wife out of it.I hate dogs. Vets suck! My broker says
don't worry this stock is not a dog. Just shorts and MM's screwing with the
stock.This stock has leading technology he says. Nothing can go wrong.
It's smooth sailing from here. Oh man isn't that what they said about the
Titanic? Oh my God I'm on a fricken dogship to ####!My broker says
don't worry short squeeze coming. Too many shorts. Oh man why does
there have to be so many shorts? Why do they all have to be so mean?
Why do they always drive my stocks down? What did I ever do to
them?My broker says they will get theirs. They got theirs alright. They got
their profits. Short squeeze coming! What a bunch of crap! The only
shorts squeeze I ever get is when my wife makes me wear those darn
bikkini briefs.Bikkini briefs suck. I hate shorts! I bet my wife is a short.I
think my wife shorts this stock everyday just so she can whoop my ass
when I get home. ! And who are these MM's people screwing with my
stock? Who do these people think they are? What are they? Has anyone
ever seen them? What does M&M stand for?I close my eyes at night and
all I can see are these these people dressed in colorful candy coated
outfits chuckling while they are screwing with my money and my mind. I
hate M and M'S. Melts in your mouth not in your hand! What kind of scam
was that? MM's, shorts, my broker and this stock suck. I'm $12 dollars
from a margin call and Monday is comming. Margin sucks. Why did I ever
buy on margin anyways? Margin what a scam! Where are we going from
here? I'll tell you where we are going. Straight down! My stocks always go
down. I hate investing! Investing Sucks! Why does this always happen to
me?
What kind of scam is this?
by: dinner_and_a_fine_whine 2/13/00 9:13 pm
Msg: 13826 of 22371 Oh this is just great!They just posted interest in my
margin account and triggered a margin call. Margin interest what is that all
about? I don't remember my broker mentioning margin interest. Margin
interest? Oh that is so unfair! "Buy more WGAT" my broker says. "I ain't
got no money" I tell him. He says what about margin? I say "I hear its
risky." "Only for losers" he tells me,"not for astute positive thinkers like
yourself. Remember" he says "I'm your friend I only have your best
interests at heart.If you do well I do well. Easy money he says." I ask
"shouldn't I diversify?" He says he'll let me in on a little secret." S G
Cowan is about to initiate coverage on WGAT with a strong buy. After that
nothing but splits coming." Oh wasn't that just a peachy keen tip now. S G
Cowan upgrades Wgat and it drops $5 dollars a share. S G Cowan
upgrades WGAT and downgrades my financial condition to life support
with one swoop! S G Cowans sucks!Well I tracked my broker down by
phone yesterday. He's down in the Caribbean . I guess he's down there
with my easy money looking out for my best interests. Full service
brokers what are they all about? Weren't there enough used car lots to go
around? My broker sucks ! He costs me money twice once when he
gives me advice and once when I take it. Oh yeah. I almost forgot he is
my friend.I asked him once "If you are my friend why don't you give me
some free advice?". So he did! He told me to marry the woman who is
now my wife. What a #######! I hate my broker! Margin interest,SG
Cowans,WGAT,free money and my broker suck! Well my broker says I'm
overeacting "Splits are coming!" Splits what a scam! "Here I"ll take your
10 and give you two fives. Keep the change!" What the #### is that all
about? This is going to make me rich? No matter! WGAT will never split
as long as I own it. My stocks never split. Splits comming? What a bunch
of crap!I have news for my broker. The splits are here. WGAT and my
broker have split the value of my account in half and my wife is going to
split my lip when she gets wind of this margin call. I hate splits! Splits
suck! Well I have three days to cover my margin call. I hope my stocks
go up tommorow. Oh they won't go up.My stocks never go up. That is not
until the day after I sell them. I wish I had cash. I never have cash. Why
did I put all my cash into my Y2K generator bussiness? Y2K what a scam
that was!Y2k,margin calls and my life suck! Why does this always happen
to me?
That is great.
I recognized a couple of those scenarios.
ROTFLMAO
Husker is a fine example of what is right in this world.
[edit] Brings to mind: “Well done good and faithful servant” - Matthew 25:21
Train vs truck
This is from last week, but as long as the subject is posted..... The arm came down on the truck. Video is available on the website link.
Cameras Capture Oxnard Train Accident
KNBC-TV
OXNARDCalif. - A man who set up videocameras near an Oxnard rail crossing to gather evidence in a traffic dispute inadvertently captured dramatic footage of a passenger train slamming into a semitrailer loaded with strawberries, authorities said Thursday.
Gaspar Medina placed cameras on both sides of the tracks Monday to study the timing of the rail crossing gates and a traffic light at a nearby intersection, said David Keith, a spokesman for the Oxnard Police Department.
Minutes later, the speeding Amtrak train carrying 80 people plowed into the truck, sending debris everywhere as a line of cars waited to cross the tracks.
"He happened to be there coincidentally, but we don't get a tape of accidents like this very often," Keith said.
The truck driver was not injured. Two train passengers suffered minor injuries.
In September, Medina was in an accident with another car at an intersection about 50 feet south of the tracks, police said. He is now involved in a lawsuit with the other driver and had placed cameras near the tracks to gather evidence, Keith said.
"He was trying to videotape the train coming through and the way the arms come down, the lights flash," Keith said.
Medina has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Keith said the front of the semitrailer had crossed the tracks and was waiting for a green light at the next intersection. Because the truck was so long, its back end was still on the tracks about 50 feet behind the intersection, he said.
The truck driver, who was cited for failing to clear the tracks, told police she didn't see the train coming. Keith said the video would be valuable to detectives working on the crash investigation, particularly because it shows the impact from both sides of the track.
The truck was carrying 155 one-gallon drums of strawberries when the collision occurred about 4:30 p.m. The impact caused the train's engine to separate from the six cars it was pulling. The train was headed to San Luis Obispo from San Diego.
Amtrak chartered two buses to transport passengers after the mishap.
Amtrak spokeswoman Verane Graham said the company wasn't releasing any additional details.
There have been four train accidents at the crossing since 1979, the most recent in 1996, said Steve Kulm, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, which keeps safety data on rail crossings nationwide.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6986502/
"she didn't see the train coming."
I'm guessing she didn't look. I'd hazard a guess that such an incident could exceed one's sphincter factor rather easily. Bet she's glad she wasn't pulling a fuel tanker.
Avian Flu World's No. 1 Threat, CDC Head Says
Health - Reuters
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Avian flu poses the single biggest threat to the world right now and health officials may not yet have all the tools they need to fight it, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.
Vaccine efforts are still focused on garden-variety influenza, which kills 36,000 Americans every year, and it would be impossible, in case of an avian flu epidemic, to switch gears quickly to make a special avian flu vaccine, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.
"This is a very ominous situation for the globe," Gerberding told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, calling it the "most important threat that we are facing right now."
"I think we can all recognize a similar pattern probably occurred prior to 1918," she said, referring to the 1918 pandemic of influenza, which also passed from birds to people and killed between 20 million and 40 million people globally.
The H5N1 avian flu, which first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997 and has since popped up twice, is evolving and can jump directly from birds to people, killing an estimated 72 percent of diagnosed victims, Gerberding said. Officials have documented 45 deaths so far from avian flu.
Gerberding said influenza was far more infectious than severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS, which swept out of China in 2003, killing 800 people and causing global concern before it was stopped.
Health experts have also pointed out influenza kills much faster than diseases such as AIDS, taking tens of millions of lives in the space of weeks or months.
The "high season" for the avian flu was just starting in Asia, Gerberding said.
"We have this highly pathogenic strain circulating widely in poultry and ducks. There are really wonderful opportunities for this virus to either reassort (mix) with human strains of influenza or with other avian species," she said.
Hong Kong authorities stopped H5N1 in 1997 by sacrificing much of the poultry population in the territory. That was harder to do now that it had spread to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries, Gerberding said.
"People depend on poultry for their livelihoods and for feeding their families," she said.
DEPENDING ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR
The U.S. government contracted with two companies that already make flu vaccine -- Chiron Corp. and Sanofi Aventis to make an avian flu vaccine, which will begin testing in people later this year.
But this year's influenza vaccine shortage caused by contamination problems at Chiron's British plant showed how tenuous vaccine-making capability was, Gerberding said. Only three companies make influenza vaccine for the U.S. market.
"There is no wiggle room here," she said. Making an avian flu vaccine in case of an outbreak would be faster than starting from scratch, she said. "But we just don't have the surge capacity to produce both."
So avian flu vaccine would be rationed.
"The very first doses would target the place where the outbreak is occurring," Gerberding told reporters. Health officials would use a "ring vaccination" strategy similar to that used to eradicate smallpox in the 1960s and 1970s, where exposed people and those around them are vaccinated.
People transmit flu before they become ill themselves so it would be almost impossible to stop it by watching or isolating sick people, Gerberding said.
Health experts are working to learn as much as they can about avian flu, such as doing blood surveys of healthy people in avian flu-affected areas.
"Are there people who have been exposed to the avian virus who have not gotten ill so we know what the true denominator is?" she asked.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050221/hl_nm/health_flu_dc_2
EBay removed the listing.
It was hilarious, but alas, it is gone.
Ever have trouble dealing with "customer support"?
From "ThatHawaiiGuy" #msg-5500243
Funny as freaking hell:
Especially the end...and questions...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7135441836
That is awesome.
ROTFLMAO
Well, I'll be darned.
Thought for years that it was accurate. There's even a web site that verifies it.
http://www.brassmonkeys.co.uk/history/default.html
The origin and true meaning of this phrase is actually totally unrelated to any form of animal or its testicles. Back in time to the period of the Napoleonic War, the great gunships of this time carried many cannons on various gun decks. As an efficient method of storage and delivery of cannon balls to the cannon for firing, a "Monkey" (this term is used to define a table and/ or a rail) made of brass was used to hold the balls. In very cold temperatures the brass would contract or even break thus allowing the cannon balls to roll off the Monkey onto the gun deck. Hence the sailors would say "it is cold enough to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey".
However, that site is an underwear store named "Brass Monkey."
Snopes, I tend to trust, and a little further research shows the original phrase was "freeze the tail off a brass monkey."
Oh well.
Very early one morning, a wife asked her husband, "Would you like some bacon and eggs? A slice of toast and maybe some grapefruit and coffee?"
He declined."Thanks for asking, but I'm not hungry right now. It's this Viagra," he said. "It's really taken the edge off my appetite."
At lunchtime she asked if he would like something. "A bowl of soup, homemade muffins, or a cheese sandwich?"
"The Viagra," he said, "really trashes my desire for food."
Come dinnertime, she asked if he wanted anything to eat. "Would you like a juicy porterhouse steak and scrumptious apple pie? Or maybe a rotisserie chicken or tasty stir fry?"
He declined again. "Naw, still not hungry."
"Well," she said, "Would you mind letting me up? I'm starving."
In the same vein as "Did You Know?"
Yes, you can use the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey" in polite conversation.
Did you know?
In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed
him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others
showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not
based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were
to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs", therefore painting them would
cost the buyer more. Hence the expression. "Okay, but it'll cost you an
arm and a leg".
*********************************************************************
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year!
(May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their
heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could
afford good wigs made from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed, so to
clean them they could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the
shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and
fluffy, hence the term "big wig". Today we often use the term "here
comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and
wealthy.
********************************************************************
In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one
chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and
used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair
while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while, a guest
(who was almost always a man) would be invited to sit in this chair
during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in
charge. Sitting in the chair, one was called the "chair man". Today in
business we use the expression or title "Chairman or Chairman of the
Board".
*********************************************************************
Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The
women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their
complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to
stare at another woman's face she was told "mind your own bee's wax."
Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a
smile". Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt
and therefore the expression "losing face".
*********************************************************************
Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied
lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced."
************************************************************
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax!
levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of
Spades". To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards
instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were
thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full
deck."
*********************************************************************
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what
was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones,
TVs or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns,
pubs, and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at
different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there". The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion
and, thus we have the term "gossip".
********************************************************************
At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and
keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who
was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts", hence the
term "minding your "P's and Q's".
************************************************************
One more: bet you didn't know this!!!!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters
carried
iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.. It was
necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but how to prevent
them from rolling about the deck?
The best storage method devised was a square based pyramid with one ball
on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus,
a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next
to the cannon.
There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from
sliding or rolling from under the others.
The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round
indentations. But, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls
would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to
make "Brass Monkeys."
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster
than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass
indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would
come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off
a brass monkey". (And all this time, you thought that was an improper
expression, didn't you?)
Gotta agree with:
"First thing to do is to end the seperate little pension deal for federal employees and throw their asses in SS with the rest of us."
It always irked me to hear politicians running for re-election proclaim that "we must fix social security." Well duh; you guys broke it, you guys dang well should fix it.
$10,000 phone call
A man decided to write a book about famous churches around the
country. So, he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to Orlando,
thinking that he would start by working his way across the USA from
South to North.
On his first day, he was inside a church taking photographs when
he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that
read "$10,000 per call". The man, being intrigued, asked a priest
who was strolling by what the telephone was used for. The priest
replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000
you could talk to God.
The man thanked the priest and went along his way.
Next stop was in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw
the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if
this was the same kind of telephone he saw in Orlando and he asked
a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a
direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God.
"O.K., thank you," said the man.
He then traveled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston,
and New York. In every church he saw the same golden
telephone with the same "$10,000 per call" sign under it. The
man, upon leaving New York decided to travel out mid west to see if
western states had the same phone.
He arrived in South Dakota, and, again, in the first church he
entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the
sign under it read "40 cents per call." The man was surprised so he
asked the priest about the sign. "Father, I've traveled all over
America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches.
I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the east and
south the price was $10,000 per call.
Why is it so cheap here?"
The priest smiled and answered, "You're in South Dakota now, son,
it's a local call".
Valentine Lament
By Jonathan P. Bernick
For men, St. Valentine's Day is the most stressful event of our lives that does not involve the word "prostate." On this day we are required to perform an act both aberrant and abnormal, a deed contrary to nature and nurture; in other words, we are expected to be romantic.
Unfortunately for womankind, some men are simply incapable of living up to this expectation. This is not due to malice or sloth; it is just a biological fact, similar to the phenomenon that some men, while capable of recalling Michael Jordan's freshman year post-season free-throw average, cannot remember to put the toilet seat back down.
Accordingly, in the name of intergender amity, I have devised a simple test to help women determine their men's romance quotients. If you are a woman, and you're not sure whether your paramour's passion potential is closer to Mel Gibson or Mel Brooks, give him this handy quiz to find out:
1. It is acceptable for a married man to look at another woman only if he can do so:
a) Without lust in his heart.
b) Without coveting her.
c) Without getting caught.
2. You meet a beautiful woman at a party. After hours of delightful conversation the two of you return to your apartment and spend the night making passionate love. As the dawn breaks you both awaken, and stare into each other's eyes. Caressing your brow, she whispers "I love you." What do you say to her?
a) "And I you, my darling."
b) "Who is this angel I see before me?"
c) "What was your name again?"
3. The affair between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky lasted a year and a half and threatened to bring down a presidency. Would you say this relationship was:
a) About love?
b) About sex?
c) About 16 months too long?
4. Who would be the ideal author for a book on marriage and commitment?
a) Larry King.
b) Wilt Chamberlain.
c) O. J. Simpson.
5. If your significant other was to get you something special for Valentine's Day, it would be:
a) A bottle of fine cologne.
b) An item of naughty lingerie.
c) A restraining order.
6. Upon arriving home from work, you find on the refrigerator a note from the love of your life. Reading it, you learn that she has left you, cleaned out your joint bank account, and run off with a webzine humor columnist. In light of this heartbreaking news, when will you start dating again?
a) After the separation is finalized.
b) After my grief has abated.
c) After Matlock.
7. After a heady session of lovemaking, which of the following phrases is your partner most likely to utter?
a) "Are you always this wonderful?"
b) "Are you going to call me?"
c) "Are you still here?"
8. It has often been said that "Everyone lies about sex." Would you say that this statement was:
a) True.
b) False.
c) I'm sorry; I was busy getting a soothing foot massage from Gwynneth Paltrow and I wasn't paying attention. What was the question?
9. Finish this sentence: The sexual act is of deep moral, social and personal significance, and should only be performed
a) Within one's marriage.
b) Within one's societal norms.
c) Within one's species.
10. The greatest romantic writer of all time is
a) Emily Brontë.
b) Margaret Mitchell.
c) Larry Flynt.
Scoring:
If your man was willing to sit through this silly quiz because you asked him to, he's a keeper. Be thankful that he cares about your wishes, and have a Happy Valentine's Day!
I think I've been to that Redneck Church LOL
Ask away, but be careful that you don't become a gossip.
FWIW Origin of gossip:
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what
was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones,
TVs or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns,
pubs, and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at
different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there". The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion
and, thus we have the term "gossip".
What does this quote say about the media?
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.
-Eleanor Roosevelt
What do you call a Roman cannibal after lunch?
Gladiator
(glad he ate her)
OK, ok, boo, hiss.
Another Wedding toon
Prince Charles marriage survey