Something I Read Somewhere

I read this in Express (the free commuter newspaper handed out at train station entrances) this morning:

A San Diego judge has ordered the seals out of the pool. The judge on Monday gave the city 72 hours to begin getting rid of harbor seals that have invaded an artificial cove at La Jolla Beach called the Children's Pool or face heavy fines. City officials say they plan this week to scare off the seals by broadcasting barking dog sounds. The plan could cost the city $700,000.

My first reaction: What!? It costs $700,000 to play a CD with dog sounds on it?

My second reaction: In what way is a judge qualified to place a strict time limit on the removal of wild animals that weigh 300 pounds?

Something I Read Somewhere

167

The amount, in thousands of dollars, Ohio's Miami University planned to spend on office chairs. State legislators blocked the spending request after learning the school picked a chair model that costs $522 each.

-Express, March 25, 2009

Something I Read Somewhere

(Click the image to enlarge)

Side note: I got this story from digg. I bring that up, because you'll notice, there's no mention of where the article was published, or when. I bring that up, because I'm kind of doubting its validity. There's no reference of the source anywhere on the Internet. The currency is in dollars instead of euros, and the writing is suspicious. That being said, whether it's fact or fiction, it's one hell of a story.

Something I Read Somewhere

I don't know why it's so, but I feel like I've been calling a lot of people stupid lately. Mind you, I'm not broadly calling everyone stupid; I'm not that cynical. I'm just identifying a lot of stupid individuals. Which is better somehow.

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Woman to 911: Help! I'm locked inside my car

Amy L. Edwards | Sentinel Staff Writer

9:45 AM EDT, April 1, 2009

A 911 dispatcher had to tell a woman how to unlock her car on Sunday.

A woman called Kissimmee police to say she was locked inside her car at the Walgreen's on John Young Parkway near Poinciana.

"My car will not start. I'm locked inside my car," the unidentified woman said.

"Nothing electrical works. And it's getting very hot in here, and I'm not feeling well."

The dispatcher asked the woman if she was able to manually pull the lock up on the door.

The woman said she would try, and then, she said, "Yes, I got the door open."

-Orlando Sentinel, April 1, 2009

Something I Read Somewhere

It was tough growing up with the name Guay. To start, I was made fun of on the first day of class, because my teachers didn't know how to pronounce my name. Then, when the pronunciation was corrected, I was made fun of for the correct pronunciation. On top of that, because I have an older brother and sister, I was one of "the Guay kids" in high school. Anyway, I thought this article, from www.metro.co.uk, was funny.

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Britain running out of Cocks

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Britain is suffering from a lack of Cocks

The number of people in Britain with amusing surnames like Cockshott, Balls, Death and Shufflebottom has declined by up to 75 percent in the last century - as people with silly names either fail to pass them on to the next generation, or leave the country entirely.

A study found the number of people with the name Cock shrank to 785 last year from 3,211 in 1881, those called Balls fell to 1,299 from 2,904 and the number of Deaths were reduced to 605 from 1,133.

People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.

Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth.

One of the Perks of Living in DC

Monday morning, I walked into my office a little bleary-eyed, probably around 9:15. I go through the same routine everyday.
1. Walk into cubicle and turn on computer.
2. Place bag on chair and hang up coat.
3. Take lunch out of bag and tuck bag under desk.
4. Log in to computer.
5. Fill up water bottle at water cooler.
6. Check e-mail.

What? There was an explosion? I suppose if I were a little less groggy I would have realized that it was only a "Simulated Explosion," and it wasn't going to happen for another two days, but whatever. After I realized there wasn't, in fact, any explosion, I thought it was cool; I never got any e-mails like this in New York or Connecticut. Then again, I did see a Bomb Squad van outside my window when I lived next to the United Nations. Who knows if that was simulated.

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From: *********
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:36 AM
To: .DC-Everyone
Subject: Simulated Explosion

Please review this important notice:

NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT MESSAGE.
For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion on Wednesday, March 25 between 9:30 a.m. and noon near Key Bridge in the District. The explosion will produce a 20 to 30' fireball that will last for approximately 2 minutes.

Please pass along this information to others appropriate. The Department of Homeland Security and D.C. Police and Fire departments have been notified, along with the Washington Airports Authority. The Virginia State Patrol and Arlington Police Department will be contacted. If you have additional questions, contact Kathy Hollinger or Burt Warner with the DC Film Office at 202-727-6608.

The explosion will take place on the Potomac River just north of the Key Bridge and Jack's Boathouse (K / Water Street, NW under the Whitehurst Freeway). In the scene to be filmed, there will be six (6) sculling boats on the Potomac River and one of them blows up.

CBS Paramount television is filming a pilot titled "Washington Field." This is a new television series about the elite Washington field office of the FBI and a team of agents with exceptional and diverse skills who are called together for only the most critical cases.

Jeanne Saddler
Director, Office of Public Affairs
Metropolitan Washington
Council of Governments

Something I Read Somewhere

$125

Price per person for a two-day, one night border-crossing experience - including simulated Border Partrol gunfire - offered by the Eco Alberto Park in Mexico.

-Details magazine, April 2009