Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death

“When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a U.S. nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim reaper or four-legged angel of death.

But Dr. David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively.” Go here to read the story.

AP – FILE PHOTO - In this July 23, 2007 file photo, Oscar, a hospice cat with an uncanny knack for predicting when patients are going to die.

Woman walks home with six-inch knife stuck in her neck

This ought to be an entry for Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Looking at that knife in her neck, it’s hard to imagine that the body can seal off pain through shock…but it does sometimes.

“Mugging victim Julia Popova calmly went home after being robbed on her way home from work - without realizing she had a six inch knife stuck into her neck.
The 22-year-old office worker had grappled with her attacker when he snatched her handbag as she walked to her parents' home in the Russian capital Moscow.
But she was so shocked by the ordeal she didn't know that the thug had buried a kitchen knife in her neck just fractions of an inch from her spinal cord.
Her horrified parents rushed her to hospital where surgeons managed to remove the blade without damaging Julia's spine.
"Shock had kicked in and her body prevented her from feeling any pain. She simply walked home without feeling the knife in her back," said one medic.”

Photo and text via Austrian Times

Agent Orange leaves deadly legacy for the next generation

I was contacted by blogger, Sharon L. Perry founder of Agent Orange Legacy, last week when she responded to one of my posts on corporate corruption and chemical companies in particular.

After reviewing her blog, I was so impressed that I became a member. Not enough people know about the generational effects Agent Orange has on Vietnam veterans children today. This site will provide you with information that may help someone you love.

It’s time that all Americans know that Agent Orange has another deadly legacy beyond what it did to our men and women who served in Vietnam. It’s time for the government to address the needs of these families.

AGENT ORANGE LEGACY

MISSION STATEMENT

Agent Orange Legacy is a grassroots movement dedicated to uniting the children of Vietnam veterans who are ill or not and adversely affected by their parent(s) service in Vietnam and exposure to agent orange and other toxins in order to lobby Congress to create or change public policy regarding the plight of the children of Vietnam veterans and their children.

EMAIL US @ aolegacy@gmail.com

JOIN OUR LOBBYING CAMPAIGN WWW.AGENTORANGELEGACY.US
We are looking for state coordinators. Join Your State Group/Chapter now.
The Lobbying Campaign group will help us coordinate our efforts.
Please visit our Public Policy website for more information
Our Lobbying Campaign will consist of the following:
1) Creating a state chapter in every state
Join Your State Chapter Now
2) Defining our Issues as a group
Join Speak Out
3) Documenting our stories to present as testimony
Join The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
4) Building an online museum to create awareness about the plight of the children of Vietnam veterans & their families
Join Let's Build A Museum
5) Connecting with other agent orange victims worldwide to build a coalition
Join Global Awareness Let's Build A Coalition
We offer the following Support Groups:
Wives
Widows
Mother's
Our Father's Were Lost
Nam Vets Connecting
Poetry Corner

Smart blogging can boost your career

Jacob Grier's blog, "Liquidity Preference," helped him land a job at the Carlyle Restaurant in Portland, Ore. Photo by David Barzelay

But just one flub can nix your chances of landing a job

Excerpt:

“Thanks to the blog, he had already connected with two well-known mixologists in Portland. Those contacts ended up taking him to an industry event where Grier met the bar manager at the Carlyle, and the rest is history.”

Read the whole story here.

Multitasking: The good, the bad, and the future

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 01/31/2010 01:27:22 AM PST

I'm a lousy multitasker. Some of my earliest memories involve walking, chewing gum and day-dreaming, which led to smacking into fences, trees, street signs and other people. I learned my lesson the hard way -- in the school of hard knocks.

I always envied people who could multitask. Multitasking is really about paying attention. It's an art, and some people can shift their attention from one thing to the next and respond to the thing most worthy.

However, recent research shows that multitasking has a dark side. Multitasking is taking a toll in our society, according to researchers at the University of California at Irvine. They found workers take an average of 25 minutes to recover from interruptions, such as phone calls or e-mail, before returning to their original task.

Go here to read the rest. Photo source

Modern Moses reaches for tablet

 

By Brian Fairrington, caglecartoons.com
Visit Brian E-mail Brian

‘Princess and Frog’ items recalled for cadmium

For years, I’ve been reading about toxic toys from China. Now, toxic toys seem to be a homegrown product. The producers of these necklaces are American!

Regulators cited toxic metal in pendants sold exclusively at Walmart

“The recall of about 55,000 "The Princess and the Frog" necklaces reflects concerns of an emerging threat in children's products.”

Go here to read the story.

 

Biggest and brightest full moon of 2010 tonight

 I don’t know if we (here in Humboldt County) will get clear enough skies to view this first full moon of 2010.

We’ll find out     tonight.

As a bonus, Mars will be just to the left of the moon tonight

Photo source:NOAO/AURA/NSF

This enhanced image of the moon was taken with the NOAO Mosaic CCD camera, using two NSF telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The moon is superimposed on a separate image of the sky.

Excerpt:

“Tonight's full moon will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. It offers anyone with clear skies an opportunity to identify easy-to-see features on the moon.

This being the first full moon of 2010, it is also known as the wolf moon, a moniker dating back to Native American culture and the notion that hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Each month brings another full moon name.”

Go here to read the whole story.

Full moon craziness
Many people think full moons cause strange behavior among animals and even humans. In fact several studies over the years have tried to tie lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures, and more. Connections have been inclusive or nonexistent.

The moon does have some odd effects on our planet, and there are oodles of other amazing moon facts and misconceptions.

Sooty’s one-night stand made him a legend

Thanks to Gecko Tales

Get the hell out of the way!

In California, the "Move-over" Law (a new national law) became operative on January 1, 2010.

Related Links:
http://www.moveoveramerica.com/

www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/moveover.asp

Move Over" laws, which... more