Have you heard the one about the Congressman and the little girl?

A congressman was seated in first class next to a little girl on an airplane.   He turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk?   Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the congressman. "How about global warming, universal health care or stimulus packages?" as he smiled smugly.
"OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first.  A horse, a cow and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass.  Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty but a horse produces clumps.  Why do you suppose that is?"

The legislator, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."

To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss global warming, universal health care or the economy when you don't know crap?" Then she went back to reading her book.

The Standoff: Leo had no intention of saying he was sorry…

photo source

‘Help! I have plastic cups glued to my head!’ and Zoo plans ‘Adults Only Tour’ for Valentine’s Day

               Good day Humboldt County!

 Today we’re going to talk a stroll down humor lane. People and animals can be really hilarious and I enjoy reporting on the activities of both.

  There’s so many serious stories out there it’s a nice break to read something funny and entertaining. I hope these two stories tickle your funny bone:

 

Man calls 911 after gluing plastic cups to head

A man who "accidentally" glued five plastic cups to his head put in a desperate call to 911 seeking medical attention. But that's just one of the more ridiculous non-emergency calls being highlighted in the Shields region of England. The Shields Gazette has posted a list of the more unusual Northeast Ambulance Service (NEAS) calls the region has recently experienced. The glued cups to the head takes the ribbon, but some of the other contenders include:

- One woman dialed 999 because she had the hiccups

- A rabbit owner called because her pet had a sore leg

- A caller phoned in because a contact lens had become stuck in his eye

It's also worth noting that unlike in America, but perhaps to the delight of Herman Cain, British emergency calls are placed to "999."

"All 999 calls are treated as an emergency. That means a call-taker has to go through a series of questions to establish the facts of an incident," said a NEAS spokesperson. "Handling requests which are clearly not an emergency means a call-handler is tied up, when they could be dispatching an ambulance to someone genuinely in need." The NEAS said they received nearly 1,200 emergency calls on "Black Eye Friday," a 20 percent increase over the usual caller traffic. The NEAS has been publicizing the non-emergency calls to help educate the public on when it is appropriate to request immediate medical assistance.

Pittsburgh Zoo hosting “Adults Only” Valentines Day event

The Pittsburgh Zoo is hosting a Valentines Day dinner that promises to reveal "the intimate secrets of exotic animal mating." It sounds like the ideal romantic date! As the zoo's website explains:

Join us for dinner, cocktails, and an adults-only presentation by Henry Kacprzyk, who will reveal the intimate secrets of exotic animal mating. From the most violent mating battles to the subtlest courting rituals, learn how the animals of land, sea, and air find love in the wild.

It's a little like the lyrics to Cole Porter's classic song "Let's Do It" come to life: "And that's why birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.
Let's do it, let's fall in love."

And though love itself may not cost a thing, tickets to see these lascivious lions are $75. The amorous animalistic display also comes fast on the heels (or hoofs) of the news that animals are far better at detecting human intent than previously thought. Still, one needn't carry out advanced zoological research--or possess an animal's native intuition-- to deduce the intentions of couples showing up on Valentines Day to study animal mating routines up close.                                                                                             Via 961Kiss.com

New Marijuana study focuses on effects of THC and CBDs

Smoking marijuana can mean different things to different people -- for some, anxiety and paranoia can set in, while others mellow out.

Now, a unique brain scan study suggests two ingredients in pot may work independently to achieve these effects.

British scientists who watched the effects of the two marijuana ingredients -- Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) -- on the brains of 15 young men say the research shows how the drug can either ease or agitate the mind.

"People have polarized views about marijuana," said study lead author Dr. Sagnik Bhattacharyya, a researcher in the department of psychosis studies at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. "Some consider it to be essentially harmless but potentially useful as a treatment in a number of medical conditions, and others link it to potentially severe public health consequences in terms of mental health. This study explains why the truth is somewhere in between."

The findings were published in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. According to Bhattacharyya's team, it's long been noted that cannabis can prompt the onset of psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia and/or delusional thinking, among otherwise healthy people.

"A number of studies have (also) clearly shown that regular marijuana or cannabis use in vulnerable individuals is associated with increased risk of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, where one loses contact with reality," Bhattacharyya said.

Just how this occurs in the brain wasn't understood. In the new study, the researchers used functional MRI brain imaging on 15 healthy men, roughly 27 years old on average and described as "occasional cannabis users."

On three occasions under fMRI monitoring, the men received one of three identical-looking gelatin capsules: one containing 10 milligrams (mg) of the marijuana ingredient THC (deemed to be a "modest" dose); another containing 600 mg of CBD; and a third filled with flour.

Testing was conducted in a highly controlled and monitored environment, in which no marijuana was actually smoked.The fMRI scans (which track brain activity in real time) were conducted one and two hours after capsule administration. During the scans, the men engaged in simple visual-cognition tasks (such as pressing buttons to reflect the direction of a series of flashing arrows). Psychopathological assessments were conducted throughout the brain imaging process.

The team found that THC and CBD appeared to affect the brain in different and opposite ways. Ingesting THC brought about irregular activity in two regions of the brain (the striatum and the lateral prefrontal cortex) that are key to the way people perceive their surroundings. THC seemed to boost the brain's responses to otherwise insignificant stimuli, while reducing response to what would typically be seen as significant or salient.

In other words, under the influence of THC, healthy individuals might give far more importance to details in their environment than they would have without the chemical in their brain.

THC also prompted a significant uptick in paranoid and delusional thinking, the authors said, and the more that "normal" brain responses were set off-kilter, the more severe the paranoid or even psychotic reaction.

The effect of the other main pot ingredient, CBD, was nearly the opposite, however. Ingesting the CBD capsule appeared to prompt brain activity linked to appropriate responses to significant stimuli in the environment, the team reported.

According to Bhattacharyya, this suggests that, on balance, marijuana may play both a good and bad role in the context of psychosis. The study also suggests that CBD, at least, may "have potential use for the treatment of psychosis," he said, even as marijuana's other principle ingredient, THC, raises the risk for developing psychotic complications.

Dr. Joseph Coyle, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said the current work goes a long way toward "connecting all the dots" when it comes to understanding the marijuana experience.

"What we're talking about here is the kind of perception, in this case prompted by marijuana, that leads a person to think that other people who are just talking in the subway are all actually talking about him," he noted. "Or people who are just tipping their hat for no reason are actually doing so specifically about him. And so this paper strikes me as important, because it actually looks at this kind of increased anxiety and increased hyper-alertness which are major factors in psychosis -- and then finds out what's going on in the brain among people who experience them.

"So I think this provides another brick in the foundation when talking about direct causality," he said. "It links the psychological state marijuana brings about with a specific psychophysical response in the brain. And that's very, very interesting."

There's more on marijuana at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse .

Article Sources: Sagnik Bhattacharyya, M.D, Ph.D., department of psychosis studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London; Joseph Coyle, M.D, Eben S. Draper professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston; January 2012, Archives of General Psychiatry

Reports of legendary 'Oily Man' monster terrorize Malaysia

Around Christmas, something unusual was seen in Malaysia, and it wasn't Santa Claus. Residents of the Kampung district of Melaka were alarmed over reports of the orang minyak (Malay for "oily man"), a bizarre monster said to abduct young women by night throughout Malaysia. The creature has been occasionally sighted for decades, but never captured.

According to a report in Malaysian newspaper The Star, there were multiple sightings over the Christmas holidays. One eyewitness saw it "crawling up the stairs of the house, just like Spider-man. When it reached the top it suddenly jumped onto the roof. I don't think a human could do that. It then just disappeared. ... We can laugh and joke about it, but this is serious. All the families here have young girls."

No matter if the orang minyak is implausible, it's feared in many places throughout Malaysia. Villagers don't trust police to protect them and have instead taken to the streets on citizen patrol, armed with machetes, to seek out the monster.

The orang minyak is only one of many similar mythical beasts in the region. There's also the orang ekor (the "tailed man," a race of men and women who have tails); the orang gadang (the "big man," a 10-foot-tall beast with long hair), and the orang bati (the "flying man," a creature that stands about 5 feet tall, has black, leathery wings, and allegedly makes its home in dormant volcanoes).

While these creatures are rooted in myth and folklore, some people argue that the orang minyak is not a creature of folklore but instead a real, but unverified, monster akin to Bigfoot. According to Michael Newton in his "Encyclopedia of Cryptozology: A Global Guide" (McFarland and Co., 2005) the orang minyak "is an aggressive unknown hominid or primate reported from peninsular Malaysia. Natives of the region claim that this large, hairy biped attacks rural villages by night and carries off young women." It's not clear what he (or she — they can't all be males if there's a thriving population of them) does with these young women, but it's probably not pleasant.

By far the best known of all these is the orang pendek, or "short man," that has been reported in the forests of Sumatra. This pot-bellied creature is said to stand between 2 and 5 feet tall and range in color from yellow to dark black. Some believe that the hard evidence for the orang pendek is far better than for Bigfoot or the orang minyak, though that's not saying much.  (article source)

Warning! Computers and Smart Phones are attacked every day

                 Good Day Humboldt County!

Today we’re going on a walk down Technology Road. It’s not a smooth road despite the many benefits associated with computers and smart phones.

The fact is, you better be on guard when you take that walk with either technology, because there’s dangers ahead. To make your journey safer I advise reading these two articles to see what challenges you’re facing right now, and further on down the road. 

Information is power, and being informed is the key to staying on a safe path. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you never have to deal with a computer or smart phone virus. 

 

                                      New virus raids your bank account - but you won't notice

The best way to protect yourself from an online financial scam is to diligently check your bank accounts. At least, until now.

Israeli-based Security firm Trusteer has found an elaborate new computer virus that not only helps fraudsters steal money from bank accounts -- it also covers its tracks. Think of a crime plot involving a spy who plans to break into a high-security building and begins by swapping out security camera video so guards don't notice anything is amiss. Known as a surveillance camera hack, the technique has been used in dozens of movies.

A new version of the widely prevalent SpyEye Trojan horse works much the same way, only it swaps out banking Web pages rather than video, preventing account holders from noticing that their money is gone.

The Trojan horse employs a powerful two-step process to commit the electronic crime. First, the virus lies in wait until a customer with an infected computer visits an online banking site, steals their login credentials and tricks the victim into divulging additional personal information such as debit card information.  Then, after the stolen card number is used for a fraudulent purchase, the virus intercepts any further visits to the victim's banking site and scrubs transaction records clean of any fraud. 

That prevents -- or at least delays -- consumers from discovering fraud and reporting it to the bank, buying the fraudster critical extra time to complete the crime.

 

Victim account holders who check their balance at an ATM -- or even at a second uninfected computer -- would be able to spot the fraudulent transactions. The virus doesn’t impact bank systems, merely the characters that are displayed within the infected system's Web browser.  That means paper statements would reveal the fraud, too.

Of course, consumers who rely on paper statements could be a full 30 days behind when it comes to spotting fraudulent transactions.While Klein is worried about the "post transaction" attack, he said consumers who have vulnerable Web browsers are bound to be victims of one fraudster or another. "My take is that if your computer is infected with financial malware, it's game over anyway," he said. "My takeaway is you need to prevent getting infected with financial malware in the first place."

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Smartphone hacking will rise in 2012, experts warn

Security experts predict 2012 will be a breakthrough year for cyber-attacks on smartphones. There are now enough of these mobile computers in use to make them an inviting target.

“Shopping and mobile banking are things that are going to leave a trail and contain lots of goodies that criminals can go after,” says Rachel Ratcliff Womack with the digital security firm Stroz Friedberg.

In addition to all of your personal information, you probably have business email and contacts on your phone. “It brings those two worlds together in a very convenient package for criminals to target,” Womack says. Not only are they loaded with all sorts of personal information a crook would like to steal, most smartphones are also completely unprotected.

The subject of malicious cell phone attacks has been greatly hyped the last few years. But during 2011 it became clear that this is a real threat that must be taken seriously. “We are only at the beginning of the wave,” says James Lyne, director of technology strategies at Sophos, an international firm that specializes in online security for businesses. “We’ve definitely got to start worrying about security on mobile devices.”

But people don’t seem to have the same security concerns with their smartphones that they do with their PCs. “The problem is that users may view these devices as eminently secure, when in reality they are just waiting to receive more attention from cyber-criminals,” Lyne says.

All smartphones can have security vulnerabilities, but right now most mobile malware is aimed at Android devices. That’s because Android powers more devices and it’s an open platform, which makes it’s easier for the bad guys to distribute their malicious software.

In a new report, Lookout Mobile Security estimates that Android users lost more than a million dollars to cyber-thieves last year. The company says the annual risk of encountering malware on an Android device is now 4 percent, up from 1 percent at the beginning of 2011. “In 2012, we expect to see the mobile malware business turn profitable,” says Kevin Mahaffey, Lookout’s chief technology officer. “What took 15 years on the PC platform has only taken the mobile ecosystem two years.”

                            What are the threats?
Mobile malware can do all sorts of things. It can spy on you, run up your wireless bill or steal your personal information.

“The things they are doing on PCs, they’re also doing on smartphones — and even more,” says Gary Davis with McAfee Labs.

• There are banking Trojans that will intercept financial transactions with your bank and then use that information to drain your bank account.
• Other malware can send text messages to premium SMS services without your knowledge. You wind up with a huge bill at the end of the month for text messages your phone sent.
• Spyware can harvest information about the places you go and when. It can also record phone conversations and forward them to the attacker. 
• Quick Response codes (those black-and-white squares starting to show up in all sorts of ads) can also pose a security risk. Internet security company Kaspersky Lab recently reported that it found QR codes can link to malicious text messages or websites. And of course, you can always click on a malicious link yourself or be tricked into giving out your personal information via a phishing scam directed to your cell phone.

What can you do to protect yourself?
The first security software for smartphones is now available and more will soon hit the market. McAfee is working on a product that analyzes the “permissions” an app wants from your device and warns of possible threats. For example, a flashlight app doesn’t need to look at your location or your phone book. If the security software found a flashlight app asking for access to that information, it would flag it.

But do you really need security software for your mobile devices? “We don’t think that people have to install yet another program for security on their phones, at least not now,” says Paul Reynolds, electronics editor at Consumer Reports. “Probably the biggest security threat is losing your phone.”

Security expert Lyne agrees. He says mobile security today is about the basics: have a decent password, use encryption and make sure your device is patched — running the latest versions of both apps and the phone operating system.

But he says in the next year to 18 months, you probably will need to seriously consider security software, especially if you use your smartphone for shopping or banking. You also need to be careful about the apps you install. Think before you download. Check reviews. Be skeptical. “Stick with the major apps and the major app stores,” advises Rachel Ratcliff Womack. If you go to Amazon or the iTunes store, your chances of getting malware are relatively low, but still possible. You run a greater risk at the Android Market.

Time to walk on down the road…

The Doors to release first new song in 40 years

Good news for Doors fans (I’m one)…

The Doors will release their first new, unreleased track in 40 years on Monday to kick off the belated 40th anniversary of the band's landmark "L.A. Woman" album.

Lost track "She Smells So Nice," which "L.A. Woman" co-producer Bruce Botnick discovered while reviewing the album sessions for a re-mastered re-release project, will debut on the band's Facebook.com page at noon EST a day before it is released to radio.

The tune kickstarts what is being called "The Year of The Doors" and will pre-empt a new DVD, "Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman" and the release of a 40th anniversary package featuring the remastered 1971 album and previously unreleased tunes from the recording session and alternate takes of classic tracks "L.A. Woman," "Love Her Madly" and "Riders On The Storm."

A century of world history from 1911 to 2011 summed up in 10 minutes of YouTube clips

It’s a great way to brush up on your history – but some may find parts a bit depressing. Here’s 100 years of world events from 1911 to 2011 boiled down to a 10-minute clip using authentic/archival footage. It charts some of our greatest achievements, but also some of man’s most terrible acts.

                                SEE VIDEO BELOW. NOTE: CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES

Although a bit long, this video is fascinating and will keep your attention if you give it a chance. Thumbs up!

It begins with Roald Amundsen reaching the South Pole in 1911 and then takes in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, World War I, the erection of the Empire State Building in 1931, Hitler’s inauguration in 1933, World War II with Pearl Harbor and the atomic bomb attack on Japan in 1945 through to the Vietnam War, the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978, the Berlin Wall coming down, the last French atomic bomb test in 1996, the Mars Rover landing in 1997, the Twin Towers attack in 2001 and this year’s dreadful tsunami in Japan.

Booze hounds acting badly in public – have another drink!

        Good Day Humboldt County!

 Today we’re going down the path of people acting badly in public places. Note that both stories involve drinking and drunken activity.

  But that’s okay right? Booze is legal. Drunken behavior in public is common. But heaven forbid we legalize marijuana! So pot heads watch drunks beat themselves up with amusement.

Cops: Colorado woman punches, rubs her buttocks against $30 million painting

A 36-year-old woman was charged Wednesday after punching, scratching and sliding her buttocks against a painting worth more than $30 million, authorities in Colorado said.

Carmen Tisch is accused of pulling her pants down to rub up against the work, an oil-on-canvas called "1957-J no.2", by the late abstract expressionist artist Clyfford Still.

Tisch allegedly caused $10,000 worth of damage to the painting.Citing the police report, the Denver Post reported that the suspect was apparently drunk at the time.

Tisch was charged with felony criminal mischief on Wednesday and has been held on a $20,000 bond since the incident in late December, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office. Kimbrough said Tisch urinated after she rubbed up against the canvas at the recently opened Clyfford Still museum in Denver.

"It doesn't appear she urinated on the painting or that the urine damaged it, so she's not being charged with that," Kimbrough said according to the Denver Post.

Flyers fans filmed beating Rangers fans

A man boasted on Facebook that he and his friends beat up two Rangers fans outside a Philadelphia cheesesteak hotspot following Monday's NHL Winter Classic. Police have released video footage online in the hope of catching the group of Flyers fans, but a man named Edward Neary appeared Wednesday to admit his participation in the attack.

Neary wrote on Facebook, "it was me and my friends do something about it," and then used a homophobic slur. His Facebook page, which has since been deleted, said that Neary graduated from high school in 2009. Neary later blamed the incident on his friends, identifying three by name, and claiming the Rangers fans instigated the fight.

He made the claim on a Facebook page for Flyers fans called Broad Street Hockey. The operator of the page had posted video of the fight in an effort to help police identify the attackers.Three suspects wearing Flyers jerseys are seen in the video repeatedly punching the two men in Rangers jerseys outside Geno's Steaks in the south of the city. Officials said the attack occurred around 7:15 p.m. local time.

One of the victims, later revealed to be off-duty Woodbridge, N.J., police officer Neal Auricchio Jr., was hospitalized with a concussion following the attack, his father told the New York Post. He said his son, a former US Marine who served two tours and earned a Purple Heart, had driven down to Philadelphia with a friend to watch the outdoor Winter Classic between the two rivals.

Time to walk on down the road…

‘In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous…’

photo source                                                   above quote by Aristotle