Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Heart

Tennessee mule brays alarm, saves owner from fire

Pat Harris
Reuters
Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:36 UTC
NASHVILLE - Add a 38-year-old mule named Lou to the list of heroic dogs, dolphins and other animal rescuers.

When fire broke out at Jolene Salomon's farmhouse near Morrison, Tennessee, on Friday, her pet mule sounded the alarm by braying loudly and loping around its pasture, she told the Southern Standard newspaper in McMinnville.

A semi-invalid, the 63-year-old Salomon was able to get to safety as the house burned to the ground.
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Smiley

We can't stop the train because our GPS is broken


Daily Express
Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:26 UTC
Over the years railway passengers have become used to the wrong sort of snow and leaves on the line bringing chaos to their journeys. But the rail industry has now come up with a new blight: The wrong sort of satellite connection.

Passengers on a Southern service from East Croydon were stunned when they were told that their stopping train would skip six stations and go direct to the end of the line in Caterham, Surrey. When they got there the driver said the reason was that the train had lost its satellite link.

Because some stations have shorter platforms than others it meant that he could not open the right doors at every station on the route. The loss of the satellite link meant that passengers who had wanted stations in between had to wait half an hour for another train.
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Smiley

Connecticut man's last lotto ticket wins $10M for widow


Associated Press
Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:45 UTC
DANBURY, Conn. - On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.

Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.
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Smiley

'Hello 911? I'm driving drunk'

James MacPherson
Associated Press
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:54 UTC
Bismarck, North Dakota -- Police get calls about drunken drivers all the time, but rarely do they come from the alleged offender. A 17-year-old girl in Bismarck called 911 on New Year's Eve "to report herself driving under the influence," police Lt. Randy Ziegler said. "I've never heard of such a thing happening, and neither has anyone here."

The girl told authorities her location shortly before midnight Wednesday and officers found her in a parked car near downtown, Ziegler said. She failed a sobriety test and was arrested for failing to have control of her vehicle while intoxicated.

The girl, whose name was not released because of her age, was not cited for drunken driving, Ziegler said.
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Shoe

Turkish company sees boom in sales of "Bush shoes"


Trend News
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:15 UTC
The Turkish shoe company that produces the brand of footware used by an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George Bush has seen a surge in orders in the past week, reported dpa.

Ramazan Baydan, owner of the shoe factory in Istanbul of the same name, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that he had received orders for some 300,000 pairs of the model that was thrown at the US president.

"Someone even came from America seeking distribution rights," Baydan said.
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Shoe

Thousands Of Shoes Dumped On Miami Expressway


CBS4
Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:17 UTC
Thousands Of "Lost Soles" May Have Fallen From A Truck Driven On The Palmetto Expressway

Miami―Thousands of shoes were dumped accidentally from a truck on the southbound Palmetto Expressway after the Bird Road exit in Miami causing significant traffic delays Friday morning.

City workers with broom sticks and Road Rangers who come to the aid of stranded motorists were all taking part in clearing one lane of a quarter mile section of expressway where shoes fell from a truck earlier in the day.

Of the task clearing all the shoes that littered the road, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo said "there's just so many."
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Pumpkin

Gold dust? That's commercial waste, says council


The Times
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:01 UTC
A jeweller has been ordered by his local council to hand over gold dust swept up from his workshop floor so that it can be taken to a tip.

John Doble, 50, who runs businesses in Torquay and Brixham, collects tiny gold particles from the floor and benches of his workshop and sells them to a specialist dealer for about £2,000 a year.
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Key

Former Royal Australian Navy submarine for sale on eBay

Cameron Stewart
The Australian
Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:32 UTC
* Ultimate eBay sale for discerning sailors
* Royal Australian Navy sub up for grabs
* Yours for $4.9 million-plus
Australian Sub
© The AustralianSub for sale ... Max Bryant onboard the HMAS Otama which is being offered for sale on eBay.

IT is the ultimate Christmas gift for the discerning sailor. Just log on to eBay, lodge any bid more than $4.9 million, and the 2000-tonne former Royal Australian Navy submarine, the HMAS Otama, could be yours, The Australian reports.

Comment: Are torpedoes included or must they be purchased separately?

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Top Secret

Anonymous donor pays Vermont man's $1,000 rent


Associated Press
Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:35 UTC
St. Johnsbury - Yes, Nathan, there is such a thing as Christmas angels. Nathan Dubray had his monthly rent paid by an anonymous benefactor who sent $1,000 in cash to his landlord on Christmas Eve. The same day, Dubray got a note telling him the rent had been paid and wishing him a merry Christmas and happy holidays.

It was signed "Christmas Angels."
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Info

Sheriff holds 180,000-carat emerald


United Press International
Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:31 UTC
Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says it is holding an emerald estimated to be worth as much as $370 million while the stone's owner is determined.

A department spokesman said the 850-pound gem will be in safekeeping until a federal judge determines who rightfully owns it.

The "Bahia Emerald" was reported stolen in September from a secured vault in South El Monte, Calif.

CNN reported the emerald has been at the center of a dispute between a California man who claimed ownership, a company with which he contracted to sell it and a potential buyer.

It is alleged the gemstone's owner tried to go around the broker, who received a $19 million offer, and sell the emerald to the same buyer for $75 million.
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