Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Butterfly

Things to make you happy: Google employs goats

Carolyn McCarthy
cnet
Mon, 04 May 2009 23:21 UTC
google goats
Google's goat army.
(Credit: Official Google Blog)
The economy is still in shambles, we're all panicking about the bacon fever, and even those bright and shiny "green" initiatives might not be so green. Sad!

But did you know that Google is conserving energy by cutting its Mountain View, Calif., lawns with adorable goats?

Yes, it's true. The company has enlisted an innovative start-up called California Grazing to bring some of the Google greenery a more carbon-friendly, less polluting alternative to lawn mowers. It sounds like the use of goats is confined to peripheral fields where weeds and brush could cause wildfires, so it's not like Googlers run the risk of having goats wander into their office buildings. No word on whether they pay the goats in leftover free food from the company mess halls.

"A herder brings about 200 goats and they spend roughly a week with us at Google, eating the grass and fertilizing at the same time," a post on the official Google blog read. "The goats are herded with the help of Jen, a border collie. It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers."
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Star

Woman accused of taking 500 pounds of gold from job

Frank Tang
Reuters
Mon, 04 May 2009 03:16 UTC
gold bars
© Reuters/Yuriko NakaoGold bars are displayed at the Ginza Tanaka store in Tokyo in this file photo from September 18, 2008.
Call her the modern day Goldfinger. A New York woman was charged Wednesday with stealing as much as $12 million in gold bullion and jewelry over a period of six years, lifting the ill-gotten booty from her employer by concealing the stash in the lining of her pocketbook.

The district attorney for New York City's borough of Queens said Teresa Tambunting, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property from Jacmel Jewelry Inc.

"The defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation ... which siphoned off millions of dollars worth of the precious metal from her employer," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

In January, an inventory audit conducted at Jacmel revealed that nearly 850 pounds (386 kg) of gold merchandise worth about $12 million was unaccounted for, Brown's statement added.
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People

It's about how you stack up against the competition

Stephanie Simon
The Wall Street Journal
Sun, 03 May 2009 04:04 UTC
Steven Purugganan, a spindly 8-year-old, was aimlessly clicking the TV remote when he caught sight of the sport that was to make him a world champion.

On television, children his age were stacking plastic cups into pyramids, then taking them apart as fast as they could. An excited crowd whooped and an announcer breathlessly reported their finish times.

Steven was intrigued. He wondered what it would feel like to have hundreds of fans. So his mother bought him a set of cups. "Now I know," he says three years later.

Steven, today a slight 11-year-old, was mobbed like a rock star as he strode through the World Sport Stacking Championships earlier this month at the Denver Coliseum in his blue Team USA shirt. Squealing girls pressed close to have their pictures taken with him; little kids asked for autographs; a film crew from Singapore cornered him for interviews.
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Cowboy Hat

Cowboy ticketed for 'riding under the influence'


KUSA-TV
Sun, 03 May 2009 03:42 UTC
Arvada, Colorado - A man in a cowboy hat who rode a horse through a Denver suburb has been cited for riding an animal under the influence. Police said Brian Drone was given a $25 traffic violation ticket in a strip mall parking lot Friday. Drone told KUSA-TV that he was out for a "joyride" in Arvada with his horse, Cricket.
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Mr. Potato

It's Official: Biden Won't Take Subway To Mexico


National Public Radio
Sat, 30 May 2009 09:35 UTC
Joe Biden did it again.

Biden, notoriously known for saying things he probably wishes he hadn't, was on NBC's Today Show this morning. Hours after President Obama said in a nationally televised news conference that the administration was opposed to sealing the border with Mexico in the wake of the swine flu outbreak, Biden had this advice about travel:
I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- that I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. ... It's not just going to Mexico, if you're in a confined aircraft and one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway.
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Crusader

Christ is easier to display than obey

Howard Troxler
St. Petersburg Times
Sat, 02 May 2009 01:36 UTC
There once were many places where you weren't allowed to see an image of Jesus anywhere. Any depiction of Christ was banned. In the wrong place you could even get killed for having one.

Image
© [Associated Press / Florida Legislature / ACLU of Florida]This image, provided by the Florida Legislature, shows a proposed design for a license plate depicting Jesus Christ that would be available to drivers if lawmakers pass a bill.
Who were those awful, Jesus-banning people?

Were they the Nazis? The Communists? The ACLU?

Actually, they were ... the Christians.

One of the many bitter fights of early Christianity (and there were a lot) concerned "icons," the depiction of holy figures. Many church leaders believed they violated the Second Commandment, the one against worshiping graven images.
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Vader

Vice's Secret Vices

Maureen Dowd
The New York Times
Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00 UTC
In a closed-door session on Tuesday, Dick Cheney testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating the "enhanced" interrogation techniques of "high value" detainees.

This columnist gained exclusive "access" to the classified testimony of the "deeply missed" former vice president.

The chairwoman of the committee, Dianne Feinstein, began by telling Cheney that she was "shocked personally" by what she had learned about the brutality of the way prisoners were treated.
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Binoculars

Switzerland bans nude hiking


NineMSN
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:25 UTC
Image
© UnknownVoters in the heart of the Swiss Alps have banned nude hiking through their picturesque region.
Voters in the heart of the Swiss Alps have passed legislation banning naked hiking after dozens of mostly German nudists started rambling through their picturesque region.

By a show of hands, citizens of the tiny canton of Appenzell Inner Rhodes voted overwhelmingly on Sunday at their traditional open-air annual assembly to impose a 200 Swiss franc fine on violators.

Only a scattering of people opposed the ban on the back-to-nature activity that took off in the previous autumn, when naked hikers - primarily Germans - started showing up in eastern Switzerland.

The cantonal government recommended the ban after citizens objected to encountering walkers wearing nothing but hiking boots and socks.
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Mr. Potato

Man tries to sell 'Hand of God' rock


NineMSN
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:00 UTC
Image
© eBayThe wall allegedly bearing the hand of God
A US man has tried to auction off a rock formation in his backyard after becoming convinced it bore the "hand of God".

Paul Grayhek, 52, placed the rock on eBay after it appeared following a "rare" rockfall at his home in northern Idaho last month, CNN reports.

But the "Hand Of God Rock Wall", as he dubbed it, was this morning removed from the auction site despite attracting a recent high bid of US$2175.

There was no explanation for why the item was removed.

Mr Grayhek said he believed the 2.7m-tall, 1.2m-wide rock was a "sign" from God after he lost his job and hit hard times.
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Smiley

Video: Tracey Ullman as Campbell Brown brings us the real 'message of the media'


YouTube
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:27 UTC
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