Just Don't Look Down!

09/15/2010 -- Here (via David Burge at IowaHawk), is a "walk-through" example of the beautiful views those folks who repair transmission towers see every day while they are at work!

The beginning is just an illustrative graphic to give you an idea of the height. Be sure to watch the actual "commute," beginning at about 50 seconds into the clip.

Sheesh . . . some people just have all the luck, huh?

Reach Out and Touch ... a Crocodile?!!

The old story from Heroditus was that there is a tiny bird that may, with impunity, climb aboard a crocodile -- even a singularly snarly one, such as the salt water variety -- and take a ride.

The fable holds that crocodiles will actually open their mouths and allow the little bird to fly in and "pick their teeth" of food bits, insects, and to also remove nettlesome leeches.

To many modern zoologists, however the story is without proof and likely not true.

So what's going on? Am I just a born skeptic? Perhaps I am, but that doesn't mean there isn't something in this compelling relationship. Birds of various species are often found feeding in close proximity to crocodiles, and immobile crocodiles basking on the bank in the sun are rarely if ever concerned about birds wandering between them, standing on their back, or straying close to their jaws. Birds are opportunists too, and they will feed on flies and other insects on and around crocodiles. It may even appear that they are removing flies from the crocodile's jaws on occasion. But extrapolating this into a mutual relationship between crocodile and bird is going a bit far. Crocodiles hardly benefit from the presence of the birds, and yet they tolerate their presence because it's just not worth chasing them. Crocodiles aren't always in the mood for feeding, and they're smart enough to let difficult to catch prey like alert birds pass them by.

The quoted Australian zoologist, Adam Britton, maintains this interesting website where he and his wife Erin chronicle their work on crocodile conservation.

Now, crocs have been around for a long, long time . . . a lot longer than mankind. Why, back in the old days, according to Adam Britton, they apparently used to have dinosaurs for breakfast!

Anyway, were the ancient Greek tale of the croc and the bird true, it would probably be classified as a life process known as facultative symbiosis -- or, a mutual and long-term interaction between different biological species, in which the relationship is beneficial to each, but not essential for the survival of either of the organisms.

Suffice it to say, however, that we can confidently conclude -- to a moral certainly -- that there is no such relationship between a certain salt water crocodile named "Fatso," and an Australian man, named Michael Newman, who, in a recent state of inebriation, foolishly decided to climb in the crocodile cage in a nearby zoo to sit on the back of a 16-footer that was residing therein.










The BBC video of the interview with Mr. Newman cannot be embedded here, but it is worth going to the link and both watching and listening to the man tell his story as he is being wheeled out of the hospital. Unbelievable.

Featuring what can be described as a cross between a high-and-tight Australian version of a Beckham and a "Mohawk" hair do, Michael Newman describes how unexpectedly fast the croc turned out to be in spite of it's large size. And at one point, he actually says, "when it grabbed me I thought, I'm in trouble here - I'm not coming out of here . . . "

Well yeah!














Fortunately, for Newman, it is winter time down under, and according to the zoo keeper, "Fatso" was perhaps a bit sluggish that day. He only took a few chunks out of the guy's leg, and then let him go. That was probably fortunate for Fatso" as well. Had he killed the guy -- which he could have quite easily done if he had been a bit hungrier or otherwise excitable -- the officials would have no doubt been obliged to "put down" the beast.

The result? Yet another complete nitwit manages to get his 15 minutes of fame!

Also according to the BBC story,

"An average of two people are killed each year in Australia by aggressive saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 7m (23 ft) long and weigh more than a tonne."

Dual Distracted Driving? A Real Close Shave!

04/01/2010 -- In what has to be the "case of all cases" of distracted driving, My Fox Orlando News has reported that a 37 year old Florida woman, named Megan Mariah Barnes, crashed her vehicle on Cudjoe Key, Florida, back on March 2d, because she became distracted in the course of shaving her, uhhhhhhhh . . . bikini line while she was behind the wheel!

The story is a few weeks old, but well worth repeating. The original story was posted by Adam Linhardt, a staff reporter for the Key West Citizen here at KeysNews.com.

Megan, a partial bleach-blond (check the roots in the accompanying Fox photo) had her ex-husband, Charles Judy, who was riding in the passenger seat, take a hold of the wheel while she was performing the depilation on her crotch.

Seems the 37 year-old lady was on the way to meet her latest beau . . . and was apparently feeling just a bit too hirsute. She wanted to look her best!

"She said she was meeting her boyfriend in Key West and wanted to be ready for the visit," Trooper Gary Dunick said. "If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it.'

What do you think the chances are that the ex-hubby became just a wee bit distracted himself and possibly "snuck a peak or two" during the process? The facts, as you will see, seem to speak for themselves!

As you might have guessed, she should not have been driving in the first place, nor should her vehicle, a 1995 Thunderbird, have even been on the road, as she had just had her license revoked for 5 years for a DUI one day prior to the crash!

The day before the wreck, Barnes was convicted in an Upper Keys court of DUI with a prior and driving with a suspended license, said Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne. Barnes was ordered to impound her car, and her driver's license was revoked for five years, after which time she must have a Breathalyzer ignition interlock device on any vehicle she drives, Dunne said. Barnes also was sentenced to nine months' probation.

Barnes and Charles Judy were southbound in her Thunderbird at 11 a.m. when they slammed into the back of a 2006 Chevrolet pickup driven by David Schoff of Palm Bay. His passengers were a man and two women; the latter were treated for minor injuries at Lower Keys Medical Center, FHP spokesman Alex Annunziato said.

Seems that Schoff's vehicle had slowed down in the right lane to about 5 mph, in order to take a right-hand turn. The Thunderbird slammed into the back of it while traveling at about 45 mph, which, as noted by the police, was within the speed limit.

Following the crash, Megan immediately fled the scene. Her hapless ex-husband Charlie slid over behind the steering wheel while she hopped in the back seat, when they stopped about a half mile down the road. The only problem was that only one air bag in the T-Bird had deployed during the crash -- the one on the passenger side.

So when the investigating officer, Florida Highway Trooper Gary Dunick, noticed that it was Charles Judy and not Megan Barnes who had incurred burns from the air-bag deployment on the passenger seat side, Dunick quickly put two and two together.

Their initial cover story collapsed.

Burns on Judy's chest from the passenger-side airbag deploying belied their story, Dunick said. The airbag in the steering wheel did not deploy, he said.

Troopers charged Barnes with driving with a revoked license, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a wreck with injuries and driving with no insurance. Judy was not charged.

Barnes faces a maximum of a year in jail if found guilty of violating her probation due to the wreck, Dunne said.

So, here would be my best guess. Megan had put the T-Bird on cruise control and in the right lane, while she was getting ready to wield the razor. Poor ex-hubby Charlie had probably been enlisted in the first place in order to take the car back after dropping her off for the rendezvous with new guy, and she ordered him to take the wheel while she was pulling down her shorts to perform the last-second pare.

During that delicate operation, however, poor Charlie probably couldn't resist wistfully taking a peek. Perhaps, just perhaps, he didn't notice the Chevy pickup up ahead -- the one that was slowing down to take the right turn -- until it was too late.

Or, perhaps he did but just couldn't get her attention in time. Either way, she had the brake under her foot.

Bam! Yikes!

Everyone ended up a loser in this one. Charlie got burned, boyfriend got stood up, Megan got a close shave and likely jail time, David Schoff got his truck bashed in, and his innocent passengers got injured.

All in that one little moment of not paying attention.