Joke of the Day (6/15/2010)

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a nearby mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny silver walls that moved apart and back together again by themselves.
The lad asked, “What is this, father?”

The father, having never seen an elevator, responded, “I have no idea what it is.”

While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched as small circles lit up above the walls.

The walls opened up again and a beautiful twenty-four-year-old woman stepped out.

The father looked at his son anxiously and said, “Go get your mother.”

Top 10 Science Fiction Shows of All Time

This is my list of the Top 10 Science Fiction Shows of All Time. It is important for you to know that this is my personal list and there are so many to choose from that I am sure you can find substitutes for some of my choices. Feel free to make suggestions!

1. Star Trek (Original) – Even though this only aired from 1966-69 it has a place in every science fiction aficionado’s heart that I have ever met. I particularly love the feeling of the sets and that “old school” look. A lot of people have noted over the years that the acting was not the best it could have been, but I would have to disagree..the acting was part of the whole experience and the sometimes choppy or odd dialog made it seem all the more plausible.

2. Battlestar Galactica – The more recent version of BSG, as it is known, 2004-09 is a must have on any list of sci-fi shows. The actors played their roles very well and left the viewer every single week on the edge of their seats. Their attention to detail, such as the radios and how the static was included in the communications..I mean in other shows the communications are as clear as day..do you really believe out in the vastness of space there would be no static? I will have to say at the end of the series it was beginning to look a lot like a soap opera though.

3. Dr. Who (Original) – This classic sci-fi show lasted from 1963-89, a long time running. The monsters/aliens in Dr. Who were absolutely great, sometimes it was obvious that they wrapped a trashcan in tin foil and put a slinky or two on it’s body to give it a “3-D” look..Hey it was the 60’s, of course they were still using that method in the 80’s, but it made the show special.

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation – Star Trek: TNG ran from 1987-94. I enjoyed the cast of this show as a whole more than any other. They matured over the course of series and meshed so well everything seemed to go seamlessly no matter what situation they were in.

5. Mystery Science Theater 3000 – This show ran from 1988-99. The dialog in this program was a masterpiece. A person has to be very knowledgeable to keep up with everything that is being poked fun at in this series. I had no idea so many terrible science fiction movies there were until I started watching this show..and there are a lot!

6. The Twilight Zone – The Twilight Zone from 1959-64 is a classic that is no doubt on everyone’s list (maybe not Top 10). Rod Sterling’s voice is forever linked to this series. The wide variety of story-lines in this show makes it a must watch even for those not interested in science fiction shows.

7. Children of Dune (New) – Ok, so technically this was a mini-series in 2003, but it was still on TV, so I chose to put it on this list. When it was first rumored and all the way up to it’s airing I thought they would completely butcher this series and I was pleasantly surprised to see they did an excellent job. I would say for anyone that has not seen this mini-series to find a way to watch it. The sound track alone is worth it in some respects.

8. Logan’s Run – This show ran during 1979 and was a actually a scary picture of what our future could possibly turn out to be. Up until you turn 30 on Logan’s Run everything is terrific and then..”that’s all she wrote”, they kill you!

9. The Thunderbirds – This show ran from 1965-66. I actually find this to be the weirdest of them all. The marionettes are kind of creepy to me, but I thought if for nothing else than being unique it should be on my list.

10. Red Dwarf – This is a BBC program that ran from 1988-99. I think this show is as much of a comedy as it is a science fiction show and that is actually one of the reasons I have it listed. It used to come on PBS so if you get a chance check it out.

These are my picks and while some of them may not be strictly science fiction they are at least close, but I will leave that up to you to decide.

A kiss on the cheeks may land you in jail in Dubai

In Dubai, public displays of affection will land you in jail.  That’s what happened to a British woman and her boyfriend who kissed each other (on the cheek) at a public restaurant, only to be promptly reported to the police and then arrested.

Meeting at Bob’s Easy Diner, a seaside restaurant in Dubai, 25-year-old Charlotte Adams greeted 24-year-old Ayman Najafi with what the couple describes as a harmless exchange of cheek kisses.

“We kissed each other on the cheek as a greeting, nothing more,” Najafi said at a court hearing on Sunday.

Sitting at a nearby table, however, were an Emirati woman’s two daughters, who told their mother that the couple had kissed on the lips. The mother called the police, and Adams and Najafi were arrested on charges of public indecency and drinking alcohol.

“My daughter told me that the accused were kissing on the mouth. Then I spotted them doing so myself. I also saw them touching each other, and they were seated two to three meters away from our table. A number of customers witnessed the scene as well,” the Emirati woman who filed the complaint testified in a court appearance Sunday.

Their passports confiscated, the couple now face the prospect of one month in jail and subsequent deportation from Dubai.

According to ABC News, employees at the restaurant said they saw no signs of inappropriate behavior from the couple.

“They said they were just sitting, laughing like everyone else,” the restaurant’s manager told ABC News. “The managers wouldn’t let it happen — we know the culture of the country, and we wouldn’t allow this at all.”

“There was no lip kissing. It was just a normal greeting that is not considered offensive,” lawyer Khalaf al-Hosani told the court, adding the complainant’s testimony was contradictory.

The British man’s mother in London said her son, Ayman Najafi, had vowed to clear his name.

“My Ayman is a good boy, he’s very wise and mature. I can’t believe it,” his mother Maida Najafi was quoted as saying in The Independent. “He knows the rules over there. He would never do that. He wouldn’t even do it over here.”
While alcohol is sold at hotels and bars in Dubai, technically it is against the law to drink without a liquor permit from the Ministry of the Interior.   At their discretion, police can impose fines or imprisonment, especially in cases involving public drunkenness.

On its Web site, the U.S. Department of State warns travelers from the U.S. about the strict nature of Dubai’s legal code.

Americans have been arrested in the past for obscene hand gestures, using inappropriate (foul) language with a police official, and for making public displays of affection, such as kissing.  Adams, a real estate agent who came to Dubai for a vacation, and Najafi, a marketing consultant based in Dubai, are free on bail pending an April 4 court date.  The pair, free on bail, were also fined 1,000 dirhams ($272) for illegal consumption of alcohol, the lawyer said.

Dubai’s foreign population has expanded rapidly in recent years as expatriates flocked to the Gulf Arab trade and tourism hub for its tax-free earnings and year-round sunshine.

The changes have challenged the Emirati population, which is now vastly outnumbered by foreigners, raising concern that their emirate’s rapid pace of growth is a threat to their social and religious identity in what remains a deeply conservative region.

In a high-profile case in 2008, a British couple narrowly escaped jail after a court found them guilty of engaging in drunken sexual activity out of wedlock, and for doing so in public on a beach in the emirate.

They were sentenced to 3 months in prison followed by deportation, but had their jail terms overturned on appeal.

In a separate case this year, a British couple who shared a hotel room managed to escape trial in Dubai for having sex out of wedlock by producing a marriage certificate.

A British embassy spokesman said it could confirm that a British national was arrested in November and the mission had provided consular assistance, but gave no further details.

The case is the third time in less than 2 years in which Brits have hit the headlines by falling foul of decency laws in Dubai, a flashy Muslim emirate popular with sun-seeking Western tourists and expatriates.

-janette dillerstone

Flashback of 2009’s Weird and Wacky News with Social Networking Sites

Flashback at 2009, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube proved fertile ground for many of the kooky, wacky, absurd stories:

“Standing at the alter with @TracyPage where just a second ago she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss the bride” is how Dana Hanna kept the world posted between “I do” and that kiss.

Cartoon character Marge Simpson made it on the cover of Playboy magazine.

Two White House gate-crashers celebrated their triumph on Facebook

The world was fooled into believing a 6-year-old boy was caught in a runaway home-made helium balloon.

British physicians were advised to ignore amorous advances from patients after some were propositioned on Facebook.

Dutch lawmakers were told off for tweeting in parliament and in Canada an MP had to apologize for insulting a rival on Twitter.

In New York, five “restroom ambassadors” got jobs tweeting from the toilets at Times Square: greeting tourists and shoppers — and then sending short dispatches on their encounters.

Britain’s High Court ordered its first injunction via Twitter to stop an anonymous Tweeter impersonating someone else.

The U.N.’s World Food Programme sent text messages to Iraqi refugees in Syria so they could redeem the virtual vouchers for fresh food in local shops.

A U.S. survey found that one in five drivers read or sent text messages from behind the wheel.”The new technologies that help us multi-task in our everyday lives and increasingly popular social media sites present a hard-to-resist challenge,” said U.S. motor club head Robert Darbelnet — a fitting description for the whole year.

FUNERAL HOME GOES GREEN
Swine flu, or H1N1, presented another challenge — and rich source of weird stories. In Egypt, thousands of pigs were slaughtered even though the UN said the mass cull was a “real mistake” because the strain was not found in pigs.

Russian soccer fans were instructed to drink whisky on a trip to Wales for a World Cup qualifier match to ward off the H1N1 virus. In Japan, candidates stopped shaking hands. In Italy an inventor devised an electronic holy water dispenser.

The spread of new media got people in trouble.
Dutch muggers were caught with the help of a Google street view camera.
A vain British burglar sent a picture of himself to his newspaper because the wanted criminal said he did not like the police mugshot.

A picture of a student urinating on a British war memorial published in a newspaper led to his being charged.

A German student thrown off a train for riding without a ticket got in trouble on his own. He stuck his backside against the window at railway staff but his trousers got caught in a train door. He nearly died mooning as he was dragged nearly nude along the platform, out of the station and onto the tracks before the train stopped.

In India, a mid-air scuffle broke out between pilots and crew of one flight.

In the U.S., two Northwest pilots overflew their destination by 250 km (155 miles). They said they lost their bearings while using their personal laptops in the cockpit.

A Saudi court sentenced a man to five years in jail and 1,000 lashes for boasting about his sexual exploits on TV.

Australian horse racing officials were denounced for holding a dwarf racing competition. The race involved men charging down a course with dwarfs dressed in jockey silks riding piggyback.

The Paris tourist board urged locals to do their part to battle a 17% plunge in visitors: Smile! S’il vous plait.

In Norway happy cows proved to be more productive. Since new rules were introduced in 2004 allowing the cows to relax for up to half a day on soft rubberized mattresses, officials reported they are producing more milk and have fewer udder infections.

An Irish school told children to bring their own toilet paper to help the school save money while Cuban officials said the country was facing a severe shortage of toilet paper.

Climate change was another big theme in 2009.
To save water and electricity in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez urged people to stop singing in the shower.

Those wishing to be cremated but worried about producing greenhouse gases even after dying learned about a funeral home in Florida that has come up with a greener way to go by dissolving the body using a chemical process.

Aaah to be young again…naughty naughty little balloon boy

The whole world watched Thursday as a lighter-than-air craft set loose by a 6-year-old boy floated above eastern Colorado.

The story was a bonanza for social networking sites. Web sites as diverse as Al-Jazeera and Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald carried news of the wayward aircraft with reports that authorities feared the boy, Falcon Heene, was inside.

The Web sites for The Sun, Britain’s largest newspaper, as well as the BBC, posted by-the-minute updates on the aerial odyssey, as did many international sites.

The aircraft, which appeared to be a Mylar-coated helium balloon, had been tethered to the Heene home in Fort Collins, Colorado, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said.

Falcon evidently untied the rope anchoring the balloon, and it was feared that he had fallen from the craft. Authorities say that after ground and air searches, he was found hiding in a box in the attic of his family’s home Thursday.

Karns predicted the “Balloon Boy” may become a hot Halloween costume as well.

The attention it garnered also gave some indications of how a real-life flying saucer, an unidentified flying object, may be documented in a high-tech world.

Twitter was inundated with news about Falcon, with the updates occupying seven of the 10 trending topics on the site from 3:30 p.m. to nearly 5 p.m. ET.

While most of the tweets were repeating national headlines about the balloon, some people expressed their opinions along the way.

Mleswan tweeted, “Oh sweet irony. The kid’s name is FALCON?!?! Oh that’s classic.”

Tmilewski tweeted, “I call both horrible parenting AND horrible craftsmanship on this one!”

On Reddit, a social networking site known for its hilarious discussion threads about news events, the topic elicited fun and fast dialog.

Neoncow said: “I don’t care what they say. A father who builds a flying saucer hot air balloon with his son is a good father.”

Lyrus said: “What did Beyonce say to the parents of the 6-year-old kid that flew away in a balloon? If you liked it then you should have put a string on it.”

Mossyskeleton: “I wonder if his dad is going to ground him when he gets back.”

Falcon’s parents, identified as science enthusiasts and storm chasers Richard and Mayumi Heene, were featured earlier this year on ABC’s prime-time program “Wife Swap,” ABC said.

The Heene family was involved in “scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm,” the network’s Web site said.

Richard Heene, who has posted at least one iReport, calls himself a general contractor, published scientist and inventor.

Facebook, in a little more than an hour, had three fan pages and three groups dedicated to “Balloon Boy.” Members were piling on as the story developed.

After the balloon landed near Colorado Springs, law enforcement authorities found it empty, according to CNN affiliate KMGH, which cited a police report.

But while the aircraft was airborne, it was the saucer seen round the world.

Michael Karns, director of marketing at Zazzle, an online customized products platform tied to trends and ideas, said the balloon excursion sparked the creation of 6,000 “products,” (shirts, bags, shoes, doggie attire, etc.) tied to the news event.

“What’s interesting about this story is that it played out over a significant period of time,” Karns said. “Expressions [on the T-shirts] changed from “Go, Falcon, Go” (when the boy was believed afloat) to “I Believe” (when he was reported missing) and once it came clear the kid, Falcon, was hiding in the attic, the products changed to sort of making fun of the whole thing.”

Karns said the Redwood City, California, company received about 200 orders of shirts related to the event by 8 p.m. ET Thursday.

Woman will never walk right again after a 19 lb Baby – would you?

He’s a bouncing baby boy who could break a knee — a mother in Jakarta, Indonesia, delivered a 19.2-pound, 2-foot-long child on Monday via Caesarean section.

The as-yet-unnamed baby’s arrival, chronicled on TODAY Thursday, was marked by a cry that sounded more like a roar and an appetite of epic proportions.

The big baby, a weight record for a newborn in Indonesia, although a bit short of the world record of 23 pounds set in 1879, was likely caused by his mother having gestational diabetes. And even though mom Ani was saved the grueling task of pushing the child out herself, the surgery to bring him into the world was still touch and go.

“This heavy baby made the surgery really tough, especially the process of taking him out of his mum’s womb,” Dr. Binsar Sitanggang told Agence France-Presse. “His legs were so big.”

Big may be an understatement. The child was born at a birth weight that nears that of a year-old toddler, and in a picture taken of the baby alongside a normal birth-weight newborn, he seems triple the size.

Doctors explained Ani’s diabetes likely caused the child to receive too much glucose in the womb, accounting for his massive size upon delivery — but so far, so good, in terms of the newborn’s health.

Still, the wide-mouthed male proved to be a handful and then some upon his first few hours in the world. “He’s got a strong appetite, it’s almost nonstop feeding,” Dr. Sitanggang told the news agency.

“This baby boy is extraordinary; the way he’s crying is not like a usual baby. It’s really loud.”

The TODAY hosts dropped a collective jaw in eyeing a picture of the newborn — and then the jokes began. Al Roker commented on Big Baby lying next to the swaddled, normal-size newborn, saying, “He looked [over] and said, ‘Oooh, a burrito! In my belly!’ ”

But Ann Curry said the outsize child may be a special gift to his mother, who has three older children. She commented that Ani has “more to love” with her newborn.

If your pregnant, you can get pregnant while pregnant again and maybe again

Arkansas couple Todd and Julia Grovenburg found out that they were having a baby and then discovered they were having two bundles of joy — but the babies aren’t twins. An ultrasound revealed that a male fetus was conceived a full two-and-a-half weeks after the woman became pregnant with a baby girl, according to reports from local media. The Grovenburgs’ obstetrician confirmed the case to Arkansas television station KFSM-TV.

The pregnancy is believed to be a case of a rare condition known as superfetation, or conceiving while pregnant.

The pregnancy may sound weird, but it is possible, according to NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman.

“Here’s how it happens — egg and sperm, implant. Of course, that’s your first pregnancy. But if you ovulate more than one time a month — and women do — and a sperm happens to meet that egg and they, too, implant, guess what, you get a second fetus,” Snyderman said during MSNBC’s “Dr. Nancy” Thursday. “You just have to hope it happens within that early window.”

Due dates for the babies are the end of 2009 and early 2010, reports say.

107 Yr Old Woman Seeking Husband 23 as She Fears Husband #22 May Be Looking for a Younger Woman

Photos! Woman, 107, And Husband No. 22? May Marry Again!

Shared via AddThis

Naked Drunk Ends up in Wrong Room at Hotel

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – An extremely drunk, naked man lost his way at a New Zealand hotel and ended up sleeping in the wrong room, forcing its female occupant to hide in the bathroom, local media reported.

The 29 year-old Australian man had gone back the hotel in the resort town of Queenstown with a woman, but got up in the night and wandered into a bedroom where a couple were sleeping.

“He was a bit surprised that there were two people in his room and he was butt naked,” Sergeant Steve Watt of Queenstown police told the Southland Times.

As the intruder slept, the startled woman took refuge in the bathroom as her husband summoned hotel staff.

The man, who could not remember whom he had been with nor what room he had been in, and had no clothes or wallet.

Police gave him a ride home clad in a hotel bathrobe, but let him off after the guests and hotel decided not to press charges.

“It was far too funny,” said Sergeant Watt, Queenstown Police.