Chicago ---------------------- The perfect pothole might not exist for many people ------ but for mosaic artist Jim Bachor, it's one with a nice oval shape. Bachor began filling those potholes a little more than a year ago, after one in front of his house became a hassle.
Bachor doesn't just fill them with cement, though. He's turned pothole-filling into a public art project ------- one with a sense of humor. He fills them with mosaics.
"I just think it's fun to add that little bit of spark into [an] issue that people moan about," says the Chicago resident, whose work also hangs in galleries. He was first drawn to the ancient art form because of its ability to last.
With orange cones and vests displaying his last name, Bachor and his helpers look official enough to shut down a street section to work on filling a pothole.
Bachor uses the Chicago city flag design in his pothole art. Some verions hold phone numbers to local auto repair shops, while others simply read "POTHOLE." His most recent installment north of downtown Chicago --------- "#21914" -------- pokes fun at the huge number of potholes that exist in the city.
While his mosaic art isn't a permanent solution to the city's pothole problem, it's at least a small fix, he says. The city's hasn't shut down his project, and some community members have expressed gratitude.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Weird News
Game of hide and speak ruffles feathers
Fairfield, Conn. ---------------------Police say a Connecticut woman became concerned when she heard someone calling "Daddy" repeatedly near a school. But when she began looking for a child, she instead found a large green parrot up in a tree.
Fairfield police Lt. James Perez says the fire department used a long pole to remove the bird from the tree at Holland Hill School. The parrot then flew onto a bamboo stand. Firefighters chased it out and an animal control officer caught it in a net and brought it to a shelter.
The bird was found about one mile from its home. It was later reunited with its owner, who had reported it missing.
No bull tolerated in downtown Baltimore
Baltimore -------------------------- Baltimore police shot and killed a cow that escaped from a city slaughterhouse on a downtown street yesterday morning, a spokeswoman said.
Police believe it escaped from a slaughterhouse in west Baltimore, Sgt. Sarah Connolly said.
The animal was "increasingly aggressive," and officers made several attempts to trap it before killing it, police said on the department's Facebook page.
Sam Wirtz, who lives three blocks away, said he was walking to visit a friend when he saw the animal running down the street.
"This is normal for me, just not in Baltimore city," said Wirtz, who was used to seeing livestock growing up in Texas.
Juneau where the flashlights are?
Juneau, Alaska ------------------ Squirrels and birds are turning the lights out on customers in Alaska's capital.
Wildlife has knocked out power to Juneau customers seven times this year, the Juneau Empire reported.
In the latest incident, a bald eagle dropped trash from a city landfill onto a line. The fallen eagle fodder caused a loud bang and knocked out power to 10,020 customers, said Debbie Driscoll, spokeswoman for Alaska Electric Light and Power Co.
Wildlife disrupts power in communities around the country but Juneau, a commercial fishing community off the road system on Alaska's Panhandle, gets power interruptions from a large eagle population and sometimes even fish dropped onto power lines.
Big fortune was all just smoke and mirrors
Colebrook, N.H. ------------------ Three people, including a daughter, are accused of ransacking the grave of a New Hampshire businessman in search of his "real will," only to find a pack of cigarettes in his hand.
The businessman, Eddie Nash, died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 68. His cement vault at the Colebrook Village Cemetery was found cracked last month, the casket opened and his remains searched through. The body was left intact.
An arrest affidavit names Ginette Dowse, of Clarkesville, 71; Michael Day, of Columbia, 37; and Nash's daughter, Melanie Lynch, of Merrimack, 52, who also goes by Melanie Nash.
Lynch had made comments about her father being buried with "the real will," a police affidavit said.
Fairfield, Conn. ---------------------Police say a Connecticut woman became concerned when she heard someone calling "Daddy" repeatedly near a school. But when she began looking for a child, she instead found a large green parrot up in a tree.
Fairfield police Lt. James Perez says the fire department used a long pole to remove the bird from the tree at Holland Hill School. The parrot then flew onto a bamboo stand. Firefighters chased it out and an animal control officer caught it in a net and brought it to a shelter.
The bird was found about one mile from its home. It was later reunited with its owner, who had reported it missing.
No bull tolerated in downtown Baltimore
Baltimore -------------------------- Baltimore police shot and killed a cow that escaped from a city slaughterhouse on a downtown street yesterday morning, a spokeswoman said.
Police believe it escaped from a slaughterhouse in west Baltimore, Sgt. Sarah Connolly said.
The animal was "increasingly aggressive," and officers made several attempts to trap it before killing it, police said on the department's Facebook page.
Sam Wirtz, who lives three blocks away, said he was walking to visit a friend when he saw the animal running down the street.
"This is normal for me, just not in Baltimore city," said Wirtz, who was used to seeing livestock growing up in Texas.
Juneau where the flashlights are?
Juneau, Alaska ------------------ Squirrels and birds are turning the lights out on customers in Alaska's capital.
Wildlife has knocked out power to Juneau customers seven times this year, the Juneau Empire reported.
In the latest incident, a bald eagle dropped trash from a city landfill onto a line. The fallen eagle fodder caused a loud bang and knocked out power to 10,020 customers, said Debbie Driscoll, spokeswoman for Alaska Electric Light and Power Co.
Wildlife disrupts power in communities around the country but Juneau, a commercial fishing community off the road system on Alaska's Panhandle, gets power interruptions from a large eagle population and sometimes even fish dropped onto power lines.
Big fortune was all just smoke and mirrors
Colebrook, N.H. ------------------ Three people, including a daughter, are accused of ransacking the grave of a New Hampshire businessman in search of his "real will," only to find a pack of cigarettes in his hand.
The businessman, Eddie Nash, died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 68. His cement vault at the Colebrook Village Cemetery was found cracked last month, the casket opened and his remains searched through. The body was left intact.
An arrest affidavit names Ginette Dowse, of Clarkesville, 71; Michael Day, of Columbia, 37; and Nash's daughter, Melanie Lynch, of Merrimack, 52, who also goes by Melanie Nash.
Lynch had made comments about her father being buried with "the real will," a police affidavit said.
2014 Spelling Bee Stumpers
How's Your Spelling?
- Babelism : a confusion of sound or sense
- Velitation : a skirmish
- Obtundent : lessening pain
- Demegoric : related to public speaking
- Otacoustic : assisting the sense of hearing
- Pelagial : related to living in the sea
- Topeng : Javanese dramatic performance involving masks
Some Other Names for the Month of June!
- Aquarium Month
- Candy Month
- Dairy Month
- Fight the Filthy Fly Month
- Gay Pride Month
- National Accordion Awareness Month
- National Adopt a Cat Month
- National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
- National Rose Month
- Turkey Lovers Month
Puzzle
Can you find seven different sports beginning with at least two of these letters?
W S A K R T E
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Answers : Water Polo Racing Archery
Tennis Sailing
Skiing Skating
W S A K R T E
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Answers : Water Polo Racing Archery
Tennis Sailing
Skiing Skating
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet (May 23, 2014)
Ill Winds Blow Disease
Scientists say wind currents blowing out of northeastern China could be the main carriers of a mysterious childhood disease that was first identified in 1961 and can eventually lead to a fatal heart condition. Research Center at the University of California suggests an airborne toxin in seasonal winds could be infecting children in Japan and as far away as Hawaii and California. Kawasaki disease cases have been found to peak only when winds originate from a vast cereal-growing region in northeastern China. Air samples collected down-wind around Japan found a fungus called Candida was in the wind. That member of the yeast family is known to cause a wide range of human fungal infections worldwide. Researchers believe something has changed in agriculture or culture since World War II, causing the new illness. Kawasaki disease causes a rash and uncontrollable fever in the young, who usually fully recover. But about 25 percent of them eventually develop a coronary aneurysm, a life-threatening ballooning of the arteries that supply the heart.
Antarctic Vortex
Powerful winds blowing around Antarctica are the strongest in 1,000 years and are being made even speedier by climate change, scientists say. They also point out that the Antarctic vortex is insulating the icy continent from the global warming that is heating up other parts of the planet. Earlier research indicated that the ozone hole above Antarctica was causing the circumpolar winds to get stronger. However, Nerilie Abram and colleagues from the Australian National University found that global warming has been a big factor in strengthening the winds since the 1940s.
Fairy Circles
The force responsible for creating mysterious "fairy circles" across the arid southwest African landscape is once again in question after a 2013 study that claimed they were caused by sand termites is challenged. No termites have ever been seen creating the formations. Fairy circles are barren patches of dirt, usually surrounded by a dense ring of vegetation. They can reach 50 feet in diameter, can last for up to 75 years and are most common in Namibia. The indigenous Himba people have long thought a higher power created them. Researchers from Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research now say the uniform distribution of the circles on such a large scale couldn't possibly be the work of a typically erratic and frenzied species like the termite. Writing in the journal Ecography, Stephan Getzin says that natural competition for water on the edge of an arid ecosystem causes the circles.
A Foggy Dilemma
The thick blanket of wintertime fog that is the bane of Northern California motorists but crucial for the state's Central Valley agriculture has thinned dramatically over the past three decades, according to new research. Scientists at the University of California, Berkley say that winter tule fog helps crops like almonds, pistachios, cherries and peaches enter a dormant period over the winter months. Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers say that they found a 46 percent drop in the number of days with tule fog over the past 32 years. The low-level blanket of cloudiness also keeps the sun from sending the trees into premature budding. It's believed that a warming climate is likely responsible for the increase in fog-free winter days.
Eruption Alert
Rumblings from El Salvador's Chaparrastique volcano prompted officials to evacuate almost 1,000 people from danger zones around the mountain. The 7,025-foot Chaparrastique, which is also known as San Miguel, is located about 90 miles east of the capital, San Salvador. The country's civil protection department said the greatest risk posed by the mountain is from landslides of volcanic material dislodged from Chaparrastique's slopes by heavy rain.
Earthquakes
A moderate quake centered near the Albanian capital of Tirana cracked buildings and caused other scattered damage. No injuries were reported from the shaking.
* Earth movements were also felt in western Germany, the Bay of Bengal region, northwestern Sumatra, Taiwan, south-central Mexico and central Oklahoma.
Creeps From the Deep
An evil-looking, fanged fish that is known to eat its own kind startled visitors at a pier in Nags Head, North Carolina, after the deep-sea creature washed up still alive. The long-snouted lancetfish is rarely seen unless it is accidentally hauled up by deep-sea tuna fishermen. But its large, round eyes, oversized mouth and long, sharp fangs can make quite an unnerving impression on anyone who does come across it. Lancetfish can grow to over six feet in length and have pores rather than scales. The one found in the Outer Banks washed ashore again after being returned to the deep Atlantic, presumably because it was ill.
Scientists say wind currents blowing out of northeastern China could be the main carriers of a mysterious childhood disease that was first identified in 1961 and can eventually lead to a fatal heart condition. Research Center at the University of California suggests an airborne toxin in seasonal winds could be infecting children in Japan and as far away as Hawaii and California. Kawasaki disease cases have been found to peak only when winds originate from a vast cereal-growing region in northeastern China. Air samples collected down-wind around Japan found a fungus called Candida was in the wind. That member of the yeast family is known to cause a wide range of human fungal infections worldwide. Researchers believe something has changed in agriculture or culture since World War II, causing the new illness. Kawasaki disease causes a rash and uncontrollable fever in the young, who usually fully recover. But about 25 percent of them eventually develop a coronary aneurysm, a life-threatening ballooning of the arteries that supply the heart.
Antarctic Vortex
Powerful winds blowing around Antarctica are the strongest in 1,000 years and are being made even speedier by climate change, scientists say. They also point out that the Antarctic vortex is insulating the icy continent from the global warming that is heating up other parts of the planet. Earlier research indicated that the ozone hole above Antarctica was causing the circumpolar winds to get stronger. However, Nerilie Abram and colleagues from the Australian National University found that global warming has been a big factor in strengthening the winds since the 1940s.
Fairy Circles
The force responsible for creating mysterious "fairy circles" across the arid southwest African landscape is once again in question after a 2013 study that claimed they were caused by sand termites is challenged. No termites have ever been seen creating the formations. Fairy circles are barren patches of dirt, usually surrounded by a dense ring of vegetation. They can reach 50 feet in diameter, can last for up to 75 years and are most common in Namibia. The indigenous Himba people have long thought a higher power created them. Researchers from Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research now say the uniform distribution of the circles on such a large scale couldn't possibly be the work of a typically erratic and frenzied species like the termite. Writing in the journal Ecography, Stephan Getzin says that natural competition for water on the edge of an arid ecosystem causes the circles.
A Foggy Dilemma
The thick blanket of wintertime fog that is the bane of Northern California motorists but crucial for the state's Central Valley agriculture has thinned dramatically over the past three decades, according to new research. Scientists at the University of California, Berkley say that winter tule fog helps crops like almonds, pistachios, cherries and peaches enter a dormant period over the winter months. Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers say that they found a 46 percent drop in the number of days with tule fog over the past 32 years. The low-level blanket of cloudiness also keeps the sun from sending the trees into premature budding. It's believed that a warming climate is likely responsible for the increase in fog-free winter days.
Eruption Alert
Rumblings from El Salvador's Chaparrastique volcano prompted officials to evacuate almost 1,000 people from danger zones around the mountain. The 7,025-foot Chaparrastique, which is also known as San Miguel, is located about 90 miles east of the capital, San Salvador. The country's civil protection department said the greatest risk posed by the mountain is from landslides of volcanic material dislodged from Chaparrastique's slopes by heavy rain.
Earthquakes
A moderate quake centered near the Albanian capital of Tirana cracked buildings and caused other scattered damage. No injuries were reported from the shaking.
* Earth movements were also felt in western Germany, the Bay of Bengal region, northwestern Sumatra, Taiwan, south-central Mexico and central Oklahoma.
Creeps From the Deep
An evil-looking, fanged fish that is known to eat its own kind startled visitors at a pier in Nags Head, North Carolina, after the deep-sea creature washed up still alive. The long-snouted lancetfish is rarely seen unless it is accidentally hauled up by deep-sea tuna fishermen. But its large, round eyes, oversized mouth and long, sharp fangs can make quite an unnerving impression on anyone who does come across it. Lancetfish can grow to over six feet in length and have pores rather than scales. The one found in the Outer Banks washed ashore again after being returned to the deep Atlantic, presumably because it was ill.
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