29 March 2009
World's Rarest Tiger Cubs Take First Steps Outside
04/04/2009 06:04
Poking their noses
warily around the corner, they hesitated for a
moment. What was this strange new place?
And no wonder they were wary, because for these Sumatran tiger cubs, this was their first taste of the outside world.
Since their birth two months earlier, they had been cooped up inside because of the cold.
And no wonder they were wary, because for these Sumatran tiger cubs, this was their first taste of the outside world.
Since their birth two months earlier, they had been cooped up inside because of the cold.
Braving the new
world: Four Sumatran tiger cubs make their
first appearance at Paignton Zoo in
Devon
______________________________________________________________
The youngsters - two male, two female - huddled together to get used to the bright spring sunshine.
However, their curiosity soon got the better of them, and they slinked outside at Paignton Zoo in Devon to join their mother Banda.
Each cub has a unique pattern of stripes, which should help their keepers to tell them apart.
The zoo will asking the public to help name them by choosing from a shortlist on its website.
Zoo worker Neil Bemment said: 'At eight weeks the cubs are quite mobile and inquisitive but they still sleep a lot during the day. They are so gorgeous and healthy.'
The two male cubs are now eight kilos and seven kilos and the females seven kilos and six kilos.
They are the result of a breeding programme at the zoo, which is a member of the European Endangered species Programme for Sumatran tigers, part of the global effort to save the species from extinction.
There are thought to be just 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, mainly on the Indonesian island which gave them their name.
Female Sumatran tigers give birth to between two and four cubs after about 103 days and they typically weigh around 1 kilo (2lbs).
The cubs live on mother's milk for six to eight weeks before moving on to meat. Cubs are dependent on their mother for about a year-and-a-half.
They put on weight at a rate of about 100 grams per day and are born blind but their eyes open at around three weeks.
SINC SAYS:
With only 400 left, those four cubs are a welcome addition to help increase their numbers.
______________________________________________________________
The youngsters - two male, two female - huddled together to get used to the bright spring sunshine.
However, their curiosity soon got the better of them, and they slinked outside at Paignton Zoo in Devon to join their mother Banda.
Each cub has a unique pattern of stripes, which should help their keepers to tell them apart.
The zoo will asking the public to help name them by choosing from a shortlist on its website.
Zoo worker Neil Bemment said: 'At eight weeks the cubs are quite mobile and inquisitive but they still sleep a lot during the day. They are so gorgeous and healthy.'
Take that! One of
the cubs play fights with its proud mother
'Banda'
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
The two male cubs are now eight kilos and seven kilos and the females seven kilos and six kilos.
They are the result of a breeding programme at the zoo, which is a member of the European Endangered species Programme for Sumatran tigers, part of the global effort to save the species from extinction.
There are thought to be just 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, mainly on the Indonesian island which gave them their name.
Female Sumatran tigers give birth to between two and four cubs after about 103 days and they typically weigh around 1 kilo (2lbs).
The cubs live on mother's milk for six to eight weeks before moving on to meat. Cubs are dependent on their mother for about a year-and-a-half.
They put on weight at a rate of about 100 grams per day and are born blind but their eyes open at around three weeks.
SINC SAYS:
With only 400 left, those four cubs are a welcome addition to help increase their numbers.
10 Huge Holes You Might Not Have Known About
04/04/2009 05:52
No I’m not referring
to the Grand Canyon here. Earth has some
amazing phenomenons. Some come from the efforts
of man, and some come from the efforts of
nature. Either way, they are a marvel to look
at.
Whether the holes are used to mine diamonds and copper, or they are simply located in the ocean where boats drive across without even thinking twice, these freakishly large things are rare in this world.
Here are 10 huge holes you might not have known about
Udachnaya Pipe, Russia
Diavak Mine, Canada
Whether the holes are used to mine diamonds and copper, or they are simply located in the ocean where boats drive across without even thinking twice, these freakishly large things are rare in this world.
Here are 10 huge holes you might not have known about
Udachnaya Pipe, Russia
Diavak Mine, Canada
04/04/2009 05:52
How fast do hotcakes sell?
Do astronauts change their clocks when they move over different time zones in space?
When lightning strikes the ocean why don't all the fish die?
When there's two men who "get married", do they both go to the same bachelor party?
If a guy that was about to die in the electric chair had a heart attack should they save him?
Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?
German Shepherd Takes A Spin Round The Lawn
04/04/2009 05:46
He may leave hairs on
the carpet, but at least he can mow the
lawn.Hope, a white German Shepherd, is a dab paw around the garden as he shows off his skills with the Flymo at his home in Sutton Coldfield.
The four-year-old, who was the winner of National Pet Month in April 2008, can also play the piano, claim organisers of a new talent show.
His winning exploits are just an example of the skills being sought by the organisers of the inaugural Britain's Most Talented Pet.
The competition, run by The Ultimate Pet Show, is calling for entrants with sparkle - horses that sing, dogs that dance and cats that juggle.
Twelve finalists will be selected to appear at the show at the NEC Birmingham on May 2.
SINC SAYS:
Some days this site seems to be going to the dogs.
A Message From Atlantic Canada . . .
04/04/2009 05:44
Don,
Here are some pics of what it looks like outside of St.John's. Even the ice breaker, Terry Fox, is getting stuck in the pack ice.
Amazingly, even the icebergs can't get close enough to be seen up close because even they can't get through this ice.
There goes our Spring once again.
The last picture is of the ferry, The Caribou, trying to get to North Syndey, NS from Port aux Basques, NL. It was a bumpy ride, or so I am told.
Marc Glassman
St. John’s, NL
SINC SAYS:
Thanks for sending the pictures Marc. It gives westerners an opportunity to see the conditions people in Atlantic Canada face with travel.
Here are some pics of what it looks like outside of St.John's. Even the ice breaker, Terry Fox, is getting stuck in the pack ice.
Amazingly, even the icebergs can't get close enough to be seen up close because even they can't get through this ice.
There goes our Spring once again.
The last picture is of the ferry, The Caribou, trying to get to North Syndey, NS from Port aux Basques, NL. It was a bumpy ride, or so I am told.
Marc Glassman
St. John’s, NL
SINC SAYS:
Thanks for sending the pictures Marc. It gives westerners an opportunity to see the conditions people in Atlantic Canada face with travel.
The Adorable Leopard Cubs Who Are Best Friends . . .
04/04/2009 05:44
With a baby
orangutanJust five weeks old, these twin baby leopards are as inquisitive as they are adorable - which is how they've made friends with a baby orangutan.
Solka and his sister Chant go to Rishi, aged one, for warm cuddles in his already long fur.
The pair, both African leopards were born at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
They now weigh around two pounds, stand at six inches tall and measure 12 inches from tail to nose.
Hand raised by carers at the institute, these two endangered cubs will grow up to be animal ambassadors at the conservation centre, where people are given extraordinarily close access to the animal kingdom.
'Solka and Chant came away from their mother, Kirean, 10, around ten days ago,' said Rajani Ferrante, who gives the cubs 24 hour care.
'The babies are fed every four hours with a special formula made from vitamins, fresh yogurt and goats milk.
'In the wild the mothers are usually very attentive for around one month, after which they leave the babies to fend for themselves.
'When born in captivity it is necessary for trainers like myself to hand raise them.
'These guys will never be going into the wild and so to form a relationship with them they need to be hand raised by us after that time.'
Leopard populations are declining due to hunting and degradation of their habitat and prey base, and have a 'lower risk' status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
By far the strongest climber among big cats, an adult leopard can haul prey twice its own body weight up into a tree where it can feast without disturbance from other predators.
Adult male leopards usually grow to 80 cm high at the shoulder and weigh around 180 pounds, while adult females are considerably smaller, weighing around 120 pounds.
Both Solka and Chant have an outdoor habitat where they play and interact but they are so small and young they have free reign of the house and they roll around on the carpet.
'It will be several months before they can be re-united with their 10-year-old other and 15-year-old father Chance,' said 35-year-old Rajnee who has worked at the Institute for 12 years.
'They are so inquisitive and are walking around in the institute and meet the guests.
'They even play with Rishi who is a one year old orangutan who is their play mate and will be for the next six to eight months.
'Leopards are the most intelligent of the big cat family and Rishi is having a good time teaching them a few things.
'They will be animal ambassadors and meeting guests who visit the reserve.'
The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species is a wildlife education organisation, dedicated to promoting global conservation.
SINC SAYS:
These guys keep foolin’ around and they’ll be called Leapes or Apords,
Countdown To The 2009 Masters . . .
04/04/2009 05:44
Countdown To The 2009
Masters . . .
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 16 – Ben Crenshaw Claims An Emotional Second Masters In 1995
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Crenshaw got comfort from his longtime caddie, Carl Jackson, after claiming his emotional second Masters.
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 16 – Ben Crenshaw Claims An Emotional Second Masters In 1995
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Crenshaw got comfort from his longtime caddie, Carl Jackson, after claiming his emotional second Masters.
Canada Clear Favorite In Formidable Field
04/04/2009 05:44
Martin faces tougher opponents than he did in 2008 worlds
Well, let's get real here: if there's someone on top of the medal podium a week from Sunday at the Ford world men's curling championships in Moncton, N.B., not wearing a Maple Leaf on his back, it will be a monumental upset.
Say all you want about how the rest of the world is catching up to Canada in curling -- and it's true to a certain extent. But the fact is, nobody on the planet is playing the game the way Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert are playing it right now.
It's not just that Martin and his teammates make all their shots, but they do it in such a clinical, precise fashion.
However, the field in Moncton is as deep -- possibly deeper -- than the one Martin topped at the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary last month.
Scotland's David Murdoch could win a Brier if he were Canadian. Norway's Thomas Ulsrud would be in the hunt, too. Same with Germany's Andy Kapp and Switzerland's Ralph Stoeckli.
And then, there are the Chinese, skipped by Fengchun Wang, the lone man to beat Martin in the round robin last year in Grand Forks, N.D., and they head to Moncton inspired by his fellow Harbin curler Bingyu Wang (no relation) winning at the Mount Titlis women's worlds last week in Gangneung, South Korea.
There used to be a wide gap between how the rest of the world and Canada approached the game, but that gap has been narrowed, thanks to the abundance of non-Canadian teams playing in Canadian cashspiels. They've learned that their funky deliveries, designed to give their rocks more movement on tragically straight European ice conditions don't work in Canada, and they've made adjustments.
Here are the predictions for the bonspiel which begins Saturday (teams listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate, coach):
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Canada’s Martin overwhelming favorite at Worlds in Moncton.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Come to think of it, I wouldn’t bet against Team Kevin Martin bringing home a second straight World Curling Championship, either. Catch all of the action of Canada's opening draw this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. local time on TSN.
Queen Elizabeth Pool Design Under Review
04/04/2009 05:44
City planners will re-examine controversial issue of co-ed change room at public swimming pool
City planners have agreed to re-examine their design for a co-ed change room at Queen Elizabeth pool, easing a dispute threatening to derail the project.
The pledge came after civic administrators met Thursday with the Friends of Queen Elizabeth Pool Society.
The group says it will turn over $300,000 in project funds it had vowed to withhold unless the plans were revamped. Both sides emerged from the meeting, saying progress was made, but offered few details.
"We had a great meeting," society spokesman John Stobbe said. "They definitely did listen to us, and now we're going to keep moving forward."
City officials declined interviews, but released a statement from community services manager Linda Cochrane. She said she hopes to find a solution to keep the $5.1-million pool on track for a 2010 opening. "In the coming weeks, the city will review the design based on safety considerations, the requirements of potential users of the pool and effective use of taxpayer dollars. The safety of citizens using city facilities is paramount."
Stobbe said he is more optimistic than he was early in the week, when plans for the universal change room came to the society's attention.
"The city will do the work, which doesn't mean it will change," he said. "They just want to make sure it's safe, and that's all that's really important.
"I'm confident the administration is going to do a great job."
The society favours traditional gender-specific change rooms, citing concerns about the safety of the unisex design that would have enclosed cubicles used by both men and women. The concept will help save money, but the city has also argued the universal format is safer for families because parents can stay with their children regardless of gender.
The new Queen Elizabeth pool has been in the works almost five years after the original closed because of a crack. The society has promised to provide $400,000 for the project, of which $100,000 has already been handed over.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Let’s hope that the two sides can get all of this political BS put to bed and get on with construction of the pool.
Special Teams Support Storm’s Surge Over Saints
04/04/2009 05:43
Grande Prairie takes commanding 2-0 lead in series
You wouldn't be able to fault the Grande Prairie Storm if they tried to ride their special teams home for Games 3 and 4 of the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship series.
The way the units have performed two games into the best-of-seven series, it wouldn't be such a far-fetched notion.
The Storm went two-for-six on the power play and held the Spruce Grove Saints power-play unit off the scoresheet for the second night in a row (zero-for-four) in their 2-1 victory Thursday night at Grant Fuhr Arena. The win gives the Storm a commanding 2-0 lead in their hunt for the Enerflex Cup.
Matt Williams and Tanner Fritz scored on the man advantage at 6:11 and 16:49, respectively, of the second period for the Storm. Chad Carder stopped 33 pucks in the win and Travis Rolheiser made 26 stops for the Saints.
Spruce Grove captain Connor Hardowa put an end to Carder's 92:37 shutout streak with a shot from a difficult angle out of the corner at 16:22 of the second period.
The Storm's special teams success has been paramount in their 2-0 lead in the series. The team has four power-play goals in two games and has been flawless in rendering the Saints power play--which was an AJHL-best 29.79 per cent effective in the regular season-- zero-for-nine thus far.
"It's been running well throughout the whole playoffs," Storm assistant coach Blaine Bablitz said of the special teams' results. "We don't give them too much guidance, we leave it up to our skilled players, and they get it done."
One day after voicing displeasure with his team's effort in Game 1, Spruce Grove head coach Steve Hamilton got what he wanted out of his team in terms of effort when the puck dropped on Thursday night. The Saints controlled the tempo out of the gate, playing a much more physical game than Wednesday's 3-0 loss. The Saints owned the shot count through the game's first 40 minutes, outfiring the Storm 26-19.
The momentum seemed to be hanging in the air for the Saints to grab. After Grande Prairie lost defenceman Bobby Tyson late in the first period to a game misconduct for a check from behind on Saints forward Joshua Lazowski, Spruce Grove was unable to convert on a power play that they had ample chances on. An intense start to the second period proved to be fruitless for the Saints as well.
"We're in a spot where we've kind of painted ourselves into a corner and we've got to find a way here," Saints head coach Steve Hamilton said. "Their power play executed and we're running dry right now."
For the second night in a row, Carder's stellar play between the pipes anchored the Storm. The 20-year-old Calgarian was nearly perfect in the win. His denial of
Lazowski in the fourth minute of the third period on a behind-the-net setup may have been the netminder's biggest save of the series thus far.
"Chad was great," Bablitz said of the goaltender who has made 61 saves in the last two games. "He was solid in there and he made big saves when he needed to. We're very fortunate that he's playing well."
While crediting his defencemen for their help, Carder admitted that playing in a championship series has helped amp his game up.
"The games feel more intense the further you go," he said. "You've got to battle a little harder and I guess you get into a little zone, but we just want to keep it going here."
The Storm will look to close out the series in Games 3 and 4 on April 4 and 5 in Grande Prairie.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Well, folks, it’s just about put up or shut up time for the Spruce Grove Saints, isn’t it? Game three of the best of seven series goes tonight in Grande Prairie.
Coverage Of Masters Ready To Roll On TSN And TSN.CA
04/04/2009 05:43
TSN takes viewers on a stroll down Magnolia Lane with more coverage of THE MASTERS (April 9-12) than ever before. In addition to TSN's live broadcast coverage of the first two rounds and encores of the third and final rounds, TSN.ca will deliver exclusive online streaming of Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13), and the 15th and 16th holes not seen on TV – for all four rounds of the tournament. Encore presentations of all TSN MASTERS coverage will air on TSN2 on a three-hour delay (see complete broadcast schedule below).
TSN's 2009 MASTERS broadcast coverage begins on Wednesday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. ET with the popular Par 3 Contest.
“Watching THE MASTERS is a spring tradition for Canadian golf fans. We're giving viewers unique access inside Augusta National with all the tournament coverage, the Par 3 Contest, and a first-hand view of every swing from five different holes – including Amen Corner – on TSN.ca,” said Phil King, President of TSN.
TSN's broadcast coverage of the 2009 MASTERS includes live one-hour preview shows airing daily prior to each round. TSN's Cory Woron and golf analyst Jim Nelford will break down the tournament each day and resident golf expert Bob Weeks will provide in-depth reports.
SPORTSCENTRE will feature daily 2009 MASTERS reports beginning Monday, April 6, covering all of the major headlines and stories from Augusta. In-depth features include a look at Mike Weir and Stephen Ames' chances to win as the only Canadians in this year's field, Tiger Woods' return to major competition, Phil Mickelson's impressive play entering THE MASTERS and Padraig Harrington's quest to join Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Woods as the only players to win three consecutive majors. Bob Weeks will also provide a unique perspective as he serves as Ames' caddy for the Par 3 Contest.
TSN will also televise five MASTERS OFFICIAL FILMS, a collection of highlights and recaps from previous MASTERS tournaments, April 6, 7 and 9. In addition, ESPN Classic viewers can relive even more of THE MASTERS greatest moments with a three-night tribute from April 6 to 8, with two one-hour episodes beginning at 9 p.m. ET each night.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
To see TSN/TSN.ca’s broadcast schedule for The Masters, click here.
Michael Vick Says Prison Gave Him Time To Think
04/04/2009 05:43
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court on Friday that his time in prison has given him a chance to think, and he's realized he needs to make some changes.
The ex-Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who is serving a 23-month prison sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation, said he knows he committed a "heinous" act that was very irresponsible.
"I can't live like the old Mike Vick," he told a courtroom filled with his family, friends and fiancee. "I was very immature. I did a lot of things I wasn't supposed to do being a role model."
In prison, he's filled his days by reading, writing, playing basketball and working a 12-cent-an-hour job as a janitor, he said. The experience has given him a chance to develop he called "an exit strategy."
Vick is testifying as part of a hearing to evaluate his plan to emerge from financial ruin, and is expected to explain parts of his bankruptcy plan while on the stand. He was once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, but lavish spending and poor investments, coupled with the backlash from his dogfighting case, led to his downfall. Vick filed for bankruptcy in July claiming assets of US$16 million and debts of more than $20 million.
His plan to pay his creditors is based largely on the goal of returning to a professional football career.
Vick is expected to be released from custody in July, and travelled from a federal prison in Kansas to attend the hearing. He could be transferred to home confinement at his eastern Virginia home by late May, and his agent testified Thursday that he hopes Vick can return to the NFL by September.
In order for that to happen, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would have to reinstate Vick, who was suspended indefinitely after he was indicted on the dogfighting conspiracy charge in 2007. Goodell has said he would consider Vick's case after his release.
Vick's agent, Joel Segal, said on the stand Thursday that he would try to negotiate a short-term contract filled with incentives for playing time and starts that could bring in millions. He also said Vick has agreed to plans for a television documentary that will pay him $600,000.
Earlier this week, Vick and the Falcons agreed he would repay $6.5 million of his Atlanta contract, moving closer to cutting ties with a team that doesn't want him. Segal said he hasn't spoken to teams because Vick is still under contract with the Falcons, but that he is in shape and will be prepared for his return.
"There will be determination like we've never seen before to be structured and disciplined," Segal said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Vick certainly had lots of time to think while in prison. Let’s hope he thought long and hard enough to turn his life around.
Error Costs Doc $1.5 M, Hockey Player His Career
04/04/2009 05:43
A judge has awarded $1.5 million to a National Hockey League draftee after a doctor botched his shoulder operation and tried to cover up the mistake.
Joshua Morrow, then 19, was playing for the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers in 2003 when he was drafted by the Nashville Predators.
In February 2003, Dr. Ross Outerbridge operated on Morrow's shoulder to repair an injury he suffered the previous month.
But doctor made a serious mistake by leaving metal screws standing "proud" -- sticking up from the bone, the court heard.
The mistake ultimately caused significant damage to Morrow's shoulder, ending his hockey career and leaving him with debilitating and painful arthritis in his shoulder.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett, in a judgment released Thursday after a trial in November, awarded Morrow -- who's originally from the Edmonton area -- $1.5 million in damages.
The award will reach about $2 million once court costs, taxes and the cost of future care are added, said Morrow's lawyer, Joe Murphy.
"The tragedy of this case is the surgery was poorly done," Murphy said Thursday. "It was easily fixed without any harm done. But this doctor, even though he knew it was bad, said the surgery was perfect. So the harder my client worked, the more damage that was done."
Morrow, 25, will never play hockey again. He has enrolled in university and returned to Alberta, where he grew up on a farm.
"He was a seventh-round draft pick but he was a tremendous, fast skater," Murphy said of his client, whose younger brother Joseph, 15, is playing in the WHL in Portland, Ore.
Morrow had excelled at hockey at a young age, playing in the Alberta Junior A Hockey League. At 15, he was drafted by the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL and played 12 games with the team.
Morrow testified no one believed he had a problem with his shoulder because everyone accepted what Outerbridge said. He said he almost began to believe that his pain was all in his head. It wasn't until another surgery was done in Alberta in 2004 that he realized significant damage was done to his shoulder.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is a very, very sad and unfortunate story.
It's UP To You Folks . . .
03/04/2009 07:41
There is a two-letter
word in English that perhaps has more meanings
than any other two-letter word, and that word
is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as
being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or
[v].
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP
the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now as my time is UP , so time to shut UP!
Oh, one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?
U P
Don't screw UP.
Now I'll shut UP.
SINC SAYS:
They forgot one very common use: UP yours!
Police Investigate Theft Of Hair From Horses
03/04/2009 07:41
It sounds
unbelievable, but it's not — someone stole the
tails and manes from an unknown number of
horses in Putnam Township
recently.Undersheriff Michael Murphy said the horse owners, who live on Farley Road, reported to police Tuesday that their horses — an exact number was unknown — had been assaulted by a thief or thieves who stole the horses' tails.
Those responsible also used thinning shears to steal portions of the horses' manes, the undersheriff said.
"The tails were completely cut off up to the nub," Murphy said. "They didn't remove the whole (mane)."
The horse owners, who said the horses are not show horses, told police that they had heard about stories of people cutting off the tails and manes of horses, but hadn't given it much thought until a couple of weeks later, when their horses' hair came up missing.
The tail is important to a horse.
Bob Pasanen, owner of Cimarron Arabians in Deerfield Township, said the horse's tail is used as a protective shield by safeguarding delicate reproductive areas; and as a mechanism of balance. A horse also uses its tail to swat flies in the summer months, which is important because flies will bore into the horse hide and lay eggs.
The longest hairs from the manes and tails of horses are used for fabrics; medium lengths are used to make bristles for paint, industrial, and domestic brushes; and very short hair is curled for use as stuffing in upholstered furniture and mattresses, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. High-grade white horsehair is used for the strings of fine violin bows, the encyclopedia indicates.
SINC SAYS:
I’ve herd a few tails in my day, but this one needs some grooming.
Man Paid To “Do It”
03/04/2009 07:41
But Fails to make
his friend’s wife pregnant after 72
attemptsA nice story, with surprising end:
In Stuttgart, Germany, a court judge must decide on a case of honorable intentions in a situation where a man hired his neighbor to get his wife pregnant.
It seems that Demetrius Soupolos, 29, and his former beauty queen wife, Traute, wanted a child badly, but Demetrius was told by a doctor that he was sterile.
So, Soupolos, after calming his wife’s protests, hired his neighbor, Frank Maus, 34, to impregnate her. Since Maus was already married and the father of two children, plus looked very much like Soupolos to boot, the plan seemed good.
Soupolos paid Maus $2,500 for the job and for three evenings a week for the next six months, Maus tried desperately, a total of 72 different times, to impregnate Traute.
When his own wife objected, he explained, "I don’t like this any more than you. I’m simply doing it for the money. Try and understand."
When Traute failed to get pregnant after six months, however, Soupolos was not understanding and insisted that Maus have a medical examination, which he did.
The doctor’s announcement that Maus was also sterile shocked everyone except his wife, who was forced to confess that Maus was not the real father of their two children.
Now Soupolos is suing Maus for breach of contract in an effort to get his money back, but Maus refuses to give it up because he said he did not guarantee conception, but only that he would give an honest effort.
Believe it or not here.
SINC SAYS:
I’ve never had a neighbour like that, sorry to say.
Nude Man Places Drive-Thru Order At Timmy's
03/04/2009 07:41
SAINT JOHN, N.B. —
Workers at a Tim Hortons in New Brunswick had
to do a double-double take after a drive-thru
customer placed an order in the
nude.
Police officers were called to the coffee shop in Saint John’s north end today after reports of a naked driver.
The women working at the drive-thru window were not impressed.
SINC SAYS:
Geez, I really hope the guy didn’t ask that girl to slip him a half dozen doughnuts.
Sick Sea Turtle Swims Right to Hospital Doorstep
03/04/2009 07:41
A sick sea turtle
swims to the doorstep of the only place in the
world that is licensed solely to treat
turtlesWhy did the sea turtle cross the Florida Keys? To go to the doctor.
A loggerhead sea turtle nearly swam to the door step of the Florida Keys Turtle Hospital, the only licensed veterinary facility in the world that solely treats sea turtles.
The 73-pound reptile was suffering from a bacterial infection and somehow knew exactly where to go for help -- no Yellow Pages needed.
Staff members at the hospital actually waited several hours before treating the turtle because they thought it may have just been lost when it showed up at the dock of the treatment center.
But the turtle stuck around, probably unaware of the Turtle Hospital's "no walk-ins" policy.
Eventually, he was treated with meds and now has a new home in a blue tank until he's all better.
No doubt, the hospital will get plenty of referrals from their new patient when he is back with his friends -- Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael.
Watch the video here.
SINC SAYS:
Sometimes Mother Nature works in ways we cannot understand.
Man Coughs Up Nail Stuck In His Nose
03/04/2009 07:41
Going to the doctor
doesn’t
get any weirder
than this.
Prax Sanchez went to a hospital for an MRI. "When I went to lay down on the MRI machine, I had a real pain on my right side under my eye," said Sanchez.
Doctors asked him if he had any kind of metal in his face, perhaps from past procedures, but Sanchez said he wasn't aware of anything. A short time later, Sanchez coughed up the unimaginable. A nail over an inch long.
"I never had any idea there was any metal in my face," said Sanchez.
It turns out, Sanchez had an X-Ray done prior to the MRI. When doctors took another look at those X-Rays, they found that a nail was indeed stuck up his nasal cavity. According to doctors, the magnetic force from the MRI dislodged the nail causing Sanchez to cough it up later.
Sanchez' family doctor, Jamieson Kennedy, determined the nail was up his nose for 30 years.
"Once it's in the nasal cavity like that, a little membrane forms around it," said Kennedy.
To this day Sanchez has no idea how that nail made it up his nose.
SINC SAYS:
I was thinkin’ of having my nails done but this guy done went and spoiled it.
Prax Sanchez went to a hospital for an MRI. "When I went to lay down on the MRI machine, I had a real pain on my right side under my eye," said Sanchez.
Doctors asked him if he had any kind of metal in his face, perhaps from past procedures, but Sanchez said he wasn't aware of anything. A short time later, Sanchez coughed up the unimaginable. A nail over an inch long.
"I never had any idea there was any metal in my face," said Sanchez.
It turns out, Sanchez had an X-Ray done prior to the MRI. When doctors took another look at those X-Rays, they found that a nail was indeed stuck up his nasal cavity. According to doctors, the magnetic force from the MRI dislodged the nail causing Sanchez to cough it up later.
Sanchez' family doctor, Jamieson Kennedy, determined the nail was up his nose for 30 years.
"Once it's in the nasal cavity like that, a little membrane forms around it," said Kennedy.
To this day Sanchez has no idea how that nail made it up his nose.
SINC SAYS:
I was thinkin’ of having my nails done but this guy done went and spoiled it.
St. Albert Legion Silent Auction And Dance
03/04/2009 07:41
St. Albert Legion
Branch No. 271,
6 Tache St,
(780) 458-3330
Silent Auction:
Friday April 3rd
and Saturday April
4th.
Dance to ‘Swing Time’ Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Food Available.
Meat Draws as usual:
Dance to ‘Swing Time’ Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Food Available.
Meat Draws as usual:
Fridays @ 6:00 p.m.
and Saturday @ 4:00
p.m.
Come on down and support the branch!
Come on down and support the branch!
Countdown To The 2009 Masters . . .
03/04/2009 07:41
Countdown To The 2009
Masters . . .
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 15 – Welshman Ian Woosnam Wins 1991 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The wee Welshman came up big on the 72nd green, holing a six-foot par putt to beat Jose Maria Olazabal and allow a European to win the green jacket for the fourth straight year.
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 15 – Welshman Ian Woosnam Wins 1991 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The wee Welshman came up big on the 72nd green, holing a six-foot par putt to beat Jose Maria Olazabal and allow a European to win the green jacket for the fourth straight year.
Saints Unable To Find Hole In Storm’s Defence
03/04/2009 07:40
Grande Prairie stifles Spruce Grove in game 1
They had 60 minutes to plug away in search of an answer, but the Spruce Grove Saints were unable to solve the puzzle that is the Grande Prairie Storm's defence.
The Storm blocked shots, got sticks on loose pucks and controlled the shot count on Wednesday night. For their efforts they skated out of Grant Fuhr Arena with a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of the Enerflex Cup, the Alberta Junior Hockey League's championship series.
Saints head coach Mike Vandekamp said his team lacked the hunger they needed to win.
"I thought we absolutely were a second-place team, in every facet of the game," he said.
"We weren't first to pucks, we weren't first to battles, we didn't want to generate anything. We didn't want to shoot and it was a snowball effect, and whew," he said, with his eyebrows perking, "a pretty good snowball by the end of it."
Chad Carder made 28 saves in the Grande Prairie net for the shutout, with Spruce Grove's Travis Rolheiser also turning aside 28 shots for the Saints in a losing effort.
Storm defenceman Mark Stojan spearheaded his team's defensive showcase, putting his body in front of 10 of the Storm's 23 blocked shots on the night. Spruce Grove managed seven blocked shots in their end.
"Mark's been a warrior for us on the back end all year," Storm assistant coach Blaine Bablitz said. "It's a part of his game and he's really good at it.
"It's good when one of your leaders is willing to do that for your team because it filters through to all of the younger guys in the environment."
"A lot of time (my focus is on) the defensive side of the game," Stojan said. "I like blocking shots, the penalty kill, that's been my role for the team."
Storm right-winger Tanner Fritz broke open the scoreless affair 3:52 into the second period when he wired a shot top shelf past Rolheiser from the right faceoff circle.
Grande Prairie's power-play unit came through with the offence for the rest of the night. On the team's fourth power play of the game, centre Carter Rowney doubled his team's lead at 17:22 of the second period.
Grande Prairie native Dennis Rix's howitzer from a tough angle got the best of Rolheiser with one second remaining in the Storm's man advantage at 7:41 of the third period.
Grande Prairie finished 2-for-5 on the power play, to the delight of a supportive Storm contingent in the crowd of 1,473. Spruce Grove went 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
"I'd say there's a whole lot more things than our power play that let us down. That was the tip of the iceberg," Vandekamp said. "When we did decide to shoot, you could have timed it on a sundial. That's ... wow. At 35 (years) and 30 pounds overweight, I might have been able to get in the shooting lane."
When the Storm weren't zeroed in on the task at hand, they were lucky. Spruce Grove blue-liner Brendan Lines saw his shot from the point zip past Carder, only to clang off the post and back into play late in the first period. A great effort from Saints winger Joshua Lazowski had Carder beat in the opening minute of the third period, but the puck slid through the crease and trickled behind the net.
Vandekamp is optimistic about his team's effort for tonight's 7 p.m. rematch at Grant Fuhr Arena with the Storm in this best-of-seven series.
"We'll find a way," he said. "We're very resilient. We've had losses this year and turned it around in short order."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Hopefully, the Spruce Grove Saints (formerly the St. Albert Saints) were able to turn it around in Game 2, which was scheduled to go in the Grove last night.
Bombers To Have New Stadium At U of Manitoba
03/04/2009 07:40
WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are on their way to a new stadium and private ownership under media mogul David Asper.
Asper, along with representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, announced a deal Thursday to build a 30,000-seat stadium by the summer of 2011 on the University of Manitoba campus in the city's south end. It will replace the 55-year-old Canad Inns stadium west of downtown.
The deal will see the community-owned club taken over by Asper's real estate company, Creswin Properties Limited -- a move that Asper admits has some fans worried.
"Their concern is that somehow their asset will be violated and I'm not in it do to that," said Asper, who is also executive vice-president of CanWest Global Communications Corp. "I'm in it to turn it into something bigger and better.
"When I've gone back and forth with fans who are critical of that, I've said to them `Give me a chance, let me prove myself ... cause I think you're going to like what you're going to see'."
For the Bombers' board, which guided the club out of debt over the past decade with help from the Manitoba government, the transition to private ownership is the logical next step. The agreement requires the football club to remain in Winnipeg "in perpetuity" and reverts ownership to a community board in the event of financial failure.
"We as a board are very satisfied that the financial mechanisms are in place to ensure that professional football in Winnipeg ... will continue," said Ken Hildahl, chairman of the Bombers board of directors.
Asper has been pitching proposals for a new stadium since 2007. His first two ideas -- a facility on the existing site and one in a crowded area near downtown -- were rejected largely because they required most of the funding to come from various governments.
The new agreement is a complex financial arrangement that will see Asper pay "fair market value" for the current stadium site, which lies in the heart of a major shopping area, and use it for retail development. In exchange, Asper will contribute $100 million to the stadium, which will also be used for amateur sports, and gain ownership of the team.
The stadium will be expandable to 45,000 seats for major events such as the Grey Cup, and will also feature a bubble dome capable of covering the field during winter months for community soccer and other activities.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I never thought I’d actually see the day when this would happen in Winnipeg. I still might not.
Compromise Reached In Hockey Jersey Kerfuffle
03/04/2009 07:40
There is now peace in our time. The great jersey melee between Hockey Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee has been settled and everyone involved sounds delighted with the outcome.
René Fasel, the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation, confirmed the negotiated truce at an IOC co-ordination commission news conference in Vancouver yesterday. He said the IOC had approved Canada's Olympic hockey jersey for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and that the design had been "accepted by everyone. ... It looks very nice."
Fasel acknowledged the new sweater would bear both COC and Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) logos.
Hockey Canada's traditional jersey, which featured a hockey player highlighted inside a red-and-black maple leaf, contravened the IOC's restrictions against teams wearing unapproved advertising and national sports federation logos on Olympic jerseys. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the IOC said it was going to clamp down on jerseys for a cleaner look, and it did.
Hockey Canada's new sweater will lose the hockey player on the front, keep the maple leaf and include the COC logo and VANOC's inukshuk symbol over the five Olympic rings.
The VANOC logo is slated to appear on the jersey's sleeve, while the COC logo will be worn on the lower back. The jersey's official unveiling is expected some time in the next two weeks.
COC chief executive officer Chris Rudge said he was happy with the announcement and described the jersey as "fantastic."
More from ctvolympics.ca
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It will be very interesting to see what the new logo looks like in a couple of weeks. There was no need for this kerfuffle. Are you reading this IOC? I said, are you reading this IOC?
Stallworth Appears In Court on DUI Manslaughter Charge
03/04/2009 07:40
MIAMI -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth surrendered in court Thursday to face charges that he was driving drunk when he struck and killed a pedestrian after a night of drinking at a ritzy Miami Beach hotel. He later was released and expressed condolences to the family of victim Mario Reyes.
Stallworth, 28, was led away in handcuffs after a short hearing before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy. He was released a few hours later on US$200,000 bail and was planning to return to Cleveland, according to his lawyer.
In a brief statement outside jail, Stallworth said: "I just want to first extend my condolences to the Reyes family. My prayers are with them." Stallworth also said he has "full confidence and faith" in the legal system.
Stallworth's lawyer Christopher Lyons said he would "vigorously defend this case" and that the defence team has already begun its own probe into the March 14 crash that killed 59-year-old Reyes. Lyons also expressed sympathy for the Reyes family.
"We want to stress there are no winners here. It was a tragic accident," Lyons said.
Stallworth said little at the hearing. He was accompanied by his mother, Donna, in the courtroom, and was driven away in a silver Lexus after his release from jail.
If convicted of DUI manslaughter, Stallworth faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. The NFL and the Browns are reviewing the charges that also include a separate DUI count, and the Browns issued a statement saying the team is "disappointed" with Stallworth's actions.
The judge set an April 23 arraignment date for Stallworth to enter a plea. Stallworth does not have to be present at that hearing.
A police affidavit said Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida's legal limit of .08. Stallworth had been drinking at a club in the swank Fontainebleau hotel in the hours before he got behind the wheel of his black 2005 Bentley GT and headed out on the MacArthur Causeway that links Miami and Miami Beach, authorities said.
Reyes, a construction crane operator just getting off work, was rushing across the causeway shortly after 7 a.m. to catch a bus home. He was not in the crosswalk when he was struck, and Stallworth told officers he flashed his lights and honked his horn in an attempt to warn Reyes.
Stallworth remained at the crash scene and told police "I'm the driver of that car" and "I hit the man lying in the road," according to the affidavit. The car's speed was estimated at 50 m.p.h. in a 40-m.p.h. zone.
Stallworth, who played in college for Tennessee, signed a $35-million, seven-year contract with the Browns before last season but was injured much of the year. He previously played for New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans.
"We are saddened by the circumstances that have taken place and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mario Reyes," the Browns said in their statement. "We have been in communication with the commissioner, who is reviewing the situation under league policies, and we will withhold further comment at this time."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would review the case under its conduct and substance abuse policies.
Stallworth will be prohibited from driving while on bail and is not allowed to drink alcohol, according to court documents. He also must observe a midnight to 6 a.m. curfew and submit to random alcohol and drug testing through the NFL's substance abuse program. He is allowed to travel between Cleveland and Miami and must seek permission for any additional travel.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Just another example of a very highly paid professional athlete who couldn't behave himself.
‘Mr. Hockey’ Makes First Appearance Since Colleen's Death
03/04/2009 07:40
TORONTO -- Seated on a stage next to his son Marty and an assortment of NHL alumni, Gordie Howe was the picture of strength as details of the annual Baycrest International Pro-Am Hockey tournament were unveiled Wednesday at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But when his late wife Colleen's name was mentioned, the 81-year-old hockey legend could no longer keep a brave face. The tears started to flow as Marty tenderly rubbed his father's neck and he struggled to regain his composure.
It was a rare emotional public appearance by Howe since Colleen's death less than a month ago.
In addition to unveiling the highlights for the annual charity event, tournament organziers also announced the launch of the Gordie and Colleen Fund for Dementia Research in Toronto. On March 6, Colleen succumbed to Pick's disease, a rare form of dementia similar to Alzheimer's. The fund will support patient outreach programs and clinical drug trials at Baycrest, a city hospital.
Asked how he was holding up, Howe admitted he's having a tough time.
"Not very good," Howe replied. "But I'd be disappointed in me if I wasn't."
That was about all Howe said about his wife's death as event organizers were quick to limit questions to hockey.
Despite his obvious grief, Howe said there was never a doubt in his mind that he wouldn't attend the event.
"I hate to make a commitment to somebody and then renege on it so when they mentioned what day it would be, it was perfect," he said. "There were no questions asked."
Marty Howe agreed, even though his father was ill last week with a nasty cold.
"I took him to the doctor's and they got rid of that," he said. "I think it's important to him.
"He still needs some time to recover from all this but he's strong. He likes being in public, he likes helping people and has always been that way and that's why people like him."
Later Wednesday, there was a standing ovation for Howe when he was introduced during a stoppage in play in the first period of the Philadelphia-Toronto game at Air Canada Centre.
Former NHL players Mike Pelyk and Mark Napier joined him in a standing room area in the lower bowl as announcer Andy Frost explained the Baycrest project. Players on both teams stood at the benches and tapped their sticks, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of Howe.
The lengthy ovation touched Howe, who put his left hand over his eyes and shed tears as Pelyk and Napier consoled him with pats on the back before the group exited into an interior corridor.
Known as "Mrs. Hockey," Colleen promoted the sport in her own right and stood outside her husband's shadow through her charitable work and success as a businesswoman and author.
Gordie, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was one of the game's greatest players during a 32-year pro career. He led Detroit to four Stanley Cups and won seven MVP awards in the NHL and World Hockey Association.
Gordie and Colleen Howe were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 along with sons Mark and Marty.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I feel really sorry for Gordie Howe, folks.
Vick May Be On Path Back To Gridiron
03/04/2009 07:40
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- An agent for suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court on Thursday that he hopes the ex-Atlanta Falcons quarterback could return to the league by September.
Joel Segal testified as part of a hearing to assess Vick's plan to emerge from bankruptcy, which was designed with the goal of Vick returning to a professional football career. Vick, who left a federal prison in Kansas last week to travel to Virginia, was in court for the first time in the case.
To return to a team, Vick still must apply to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be reinstated. He hasn't yet done so, Segal said, and plans first to finish his 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting operation. He will return to his family and community, and when he is ready, start working with strength and quarterback coaches.
Segal said he'd try to negotiate a one- or two-year contract that includes incentives for playing time and a starting position. Segal said he hasn't spoken to teams because Vick is still under contract with the Falcons, though the team has said he won't play for Atlanta again.
"He'll let me know when he's ready for that, and when Mike's ready, we have a plan," Segal said.
Vick is expected to testify at the hearing, which is scheduled to last through Friday. Much of the testimony has detailed some of the ways he plans to spend his life once he is released from federal custody in July. He could be transferred to home confinement in late May.
"You will hear from Mr. Vick his future intentions, how he's going to change the way he lives his life," his lawyer, Michael Blumenthal, told U.S. bankruptcy judge Frank J. Santoro.
One of those changes will be a construction job, Blumenthal said. Vick has lined up a 40-hour-a-week, US$10-an-hour job at one of W.M. Jordan Co.'s 40 commercial construction jobs, said John Robert Lawson, whose father helped start the Newport News company.
Lawson, 57, said that he has known Vick for more than 10 years and that they have been involved in charitable work together. He said Vick's representatives approached him when the former hometown hero was turned away by other employers.
"I believe all of us make mistakes, and once you've fulfilled your commitment and paid the price, you should be given a second chance," Lawson said in a telephone interview. "He's not a bad person. He made some bad choices."
Once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, Vick began to slide into financial ruin after details about the brutality of his dogfighting enterprise enraged the public. But court records show they were already in serious disarray because of lavish spending and poor investments.
Earlier this week, Vick and the Falcons agreed that he would pay back $6.5 million of his Atlanta contract, moving closer to cutting ties with a team that doesn't want him. Vick was suspended indefinitely after his 2007 indictment, and Goodell has said he will review Vick's status after he is released.
A committee representing most of Vick's unsecured creditors has endorsed his Chapter 11 plan because the alternative -- a Chapter 7 liquidation of his assets -- would not provide them any portion of his future earnings. But some other parties, including a former agent who won a $4.6 million judgment against Vick, opposed the plan.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Wow. How the mighty have fallen. A $10 per hour construction job?
St. Albert Legion Silent Auction And Dance
02/04/2009 04:49
St. Albert Legion
Branch No. 271,
6 Tache St,
(780) 458-3330
Silent Auction:
Friday April 3rd
and Saturday April
4th.
Dance to ‘Swing Time’ Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Food Available.
Meat Draws as usual:
Dance to ‘Swing Time’ Saturday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Food Available.
Meat Draws as usual:
Fridays @ 6:00 p.m.
and Saturday @ 4:00
p.m.
Come on down and support the branch!
Come on down and support the branch!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
St. Albert Taxpayers Meeting Overview
02/04/2009 03:01
SINC SAYS:
The following is an update of last week’s St. Albert Taxpayers Association meeting.
Hello All,
This is an update coming out of our meeting on Thursday, March 26th.
1. Discussion with Gareth Jones
We had a great meeting on Thursday--over 25 folks out and very interesting discussions with Gareth Jones (who responded to some of our written questions as well as those at the meeting). We'll be doing highlights of the evening for those of you who couldn't attend, and be following up on the questions we did not get to.
2. Our Draft Strategy
We were scheduled to review this at this meeting, however the discussion with Gareth was going so well, we decided as a group to table the strategy until our next meeting. Also, we decided to send it out as a draft for comment by the membership.
As a result, the detailed strategy is attached.
We're looking for your feedback. I'd love to hear back from you by e-mail prior to the next meeting. We will be discussing the strategy at our next meeting hoping to finalize it.
Below I've defined (not perfectly and somewhat arbitrarily!) some of the headings in the document. They start with the Strategy, which is broken down into increasingly smaller work areas.
Strategy: Our road map for reaching our desired state. It answers the question: how do we influence the municipality to spend wisely, have less waste, and lower our tax burden, as well as hold them accountable for their decisions?
Strategic Areas: The key building blocks of our strategy. If we achieve these, we will be very close to getting what we want.
Goals: The large building blocks--the what we want to do or achieve that allows us to succeed in each strategic area.
Tactics: The big pieces of work that we will do to achieve our goals.
Hows: A little more specific pieces of work as part of us following through on our tactics.
Tasks: The smaller pieces of work, that added together will help us achieve the hows. Some of this is already happening on an ad hoc basis.
Timing: This indicates when we hope to initiate each of the tasks. It also shows that some tasks continue through the 3 years.
I'm looking forward to hearing back from you. Any and all comments welcome.
Lynda Flannery
President
St. Albert Taxpayers Association
SINC SAYS:
Do I detect a tiny glow of hope here now?
Like Helping With A Flat Tire
02/04/2009 03:01
N.L. man says after
giving
kidney to
neighbour
Six years after buying his house, a St. John's-area man said he didn't think twice about giving a kidney to his next-door neighbour.
"It's just the way I feel. There were no second thoughts," said Darryl Bonnell, who seven weeks ago underwent surgery for a transplant that gave one of his kidneys to neighbour Kevin Murray.
"It was the right thing to do, to give him freedom," said Bonnell.
Both men, who live in the close-knit community of Pouch Cove, just north of St. John's, are now recovering.
Murray, who had had to give up his job and go on dialysis after his kidneys failed, still cannot believe that Bonnell was willing to give such a valuable — and risk-laden — gift.
"It took away a lot of your life, more or less. You couldn't do much," Murray said of his disease, which had required dialysis every second day, for hours at a stretch.
"Anything could have happened. He could have died in the operation."
The two men had not met until six years ago, when Bonnell and his wife, Pam, bought a house from Murray and his wife, Carm. The Murrays built a new property next door, and over the years the two couples became friends.
Carm Murray is overcome with emotion describing what Bonnell's gift has meant.
Full story from CBC News.
SINC SAYS:
Talk about loving one’s neighbour.
Six years after buying his house, a St. John's-area man said he didn't think twice about giving a kidney to his next-door neighbour.
"It's just the way I feel. There were no second thoughts," said Darryl Bonnell, who seven weeks ago underwent surgery for a transplant that gave one of his kidneys to neighbour Kevin Murray.
"It was the right thing to do, to give him freedom," said Bonnell.
Both men, who live in the close-knit community of Pouch Cove, just north of St. John's, are now recovering.
Murray, who had had to give up his job and go on dialysis after his kidneys failed, still cannot believe that Bonnell was willing to give such a valuable — and risk-laden — gift.
"It took away a lot of your life, more or less. You couldn't do much," Murray said of his disease, which had required dialysis every second day, for hours at a stretch.
"Anything could have happened. He could have died in the operation."
The two men had not met until six years ago, when Bonnell and his wife, Pam, bought a house from Murray and his wife, Carm. The Murrays built a new property next door, and over the years the two couples became friends.
Carm Murray is overcome with emotion describing what Bonnell's gift has meant.
Full story from CBC News.
SINC SAYS:
Talk about loving one’s neighbour.
Mind Over Matter: Brain Waves Control Asimo
02/04/2009 03:01
Imagine controlling a
robot with a mere thought. Honda Motor Co. is
well on the way to achieving that
goal.Honda said Tuesday its research subsidiary has jointly developed technology with two other entities that enables human thought alone to send rudimentary commands to a humanoid Asimo robot.
The system, Brain Machine Interface, is touted as the world's first technology using both electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy along with newly developed information-extraction technology to remotely control a robot, Honda said.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp produced by the firing of neurons within the brain.
Two types of sensors worn on a person's head can catch scalp electrical and brain blood-flow changes. By imagining four movements — of the right hand, left hand, the feet and eating — a computer linked to the sensors commands an Asimo to move.
"We want to increase the kinds of images (that will work) in the future," said Yasuhisa Arai, president of Honda Research Institute Japan Co., which developed the technology along with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International and Shimadzu Corp.
Honda next wants to perform tasks such as unlocking a car or turning on home appliances through human thought.
Honda doesn't know when these goals might be reached.
Tatsuya Okabe, senior scientist at Honda Research Institute, said the four motions so far tried have achieved an accuracy rate of more than 90 percent — a world first. Similar technologies in the United States and Europe boast only a 66 percent success rate.
SINC SAYS:
An intriguing idea to say the least, but get a load of that thing on his head. Looks like he’s sitting in a 1950s beauty parlour.
No Fooling: This Bunny Has Two Noses
02/04/2009 03:00
MILFORD -- It's soft,
it's cuddly and it's cute -- even though it has
two noses.
That's right, a baby bunny with two noses. And it's no April Fools joke, either.
"In my 25 years in the pet shop business, I've never had anything like this," said Tom Fomenko, Sr. owner of Purr-Fect Pets, Inc. 282 Boston Post Road.
That means no two-headed snakes, no five-legged hamsters and no three-winged birds.
"Nothing at all," he said.
That's until March 24. That's when Allison Noe, a store employee, discovered the oddity while inspecting a batch of newly-delivered, six-week old dwarf rabbits.
When she picked up a tri-colored baby boy bunny and looked at its face, she did a double take. The rabbit has two separate noses each with two nostrils. "I brought it up to the front counter to show everyone," she said.
Tiana Nieves, an employee who once worked at for a Florida veterinarian, could not believe what she was hearing.
"So I took a look," she said. Sure enough, the bunny had two noses.
"It makes it doubly cute when it crinkles and wiggles both," Nieves said.
Details here with video.
SINC SAYS:
Eh, what’s up doc? Eh, what’s up doc?
Kevin Martin Not Taking Anything For Granted
02/04/2009 03:00
Edmonton skip Martin knows upsets can happen on world stage
Sure, two-time defending Canadian champ Kevin Martin is the clear-cut favourite when the world men's curling championship begins Saturday in Moncton, N.B. There is little to dispute that.
But Martin, and his rink of third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert, aren't about to take anything for granted.
Just ask Winnipeg skip Jennifer Jones, whose rink finished out of the medals at the women's world curling championship last weekend in South Korea.
"It happens easy," said Kennedy, of the startling recent Canadian loss. "You just have to look at Jennifer to see how good these (international) teams are.
"It was a wake-up call for me, just following her linescores. Even to this day you expect Canada to walk through the worlds. I don't know why it is. You do, though. That's what you expect.
"But I was watching and it's a reminder of how good these teams are. ... We have our work cut out for us," Kennedy said of the expectations.
The Edmonton-based rink will be looking for its second straight worlds title. The last Canadian team to pull off that feat was none other than Edmonton's Randy Ferbey foursome in 2002 and 2003.
Prior to that, it had been 31 years between repeat world champs as Don Duguid pulled it off in 1970 and '71. It came shortly after Ron Northcott's double in 1968 and '69 and Ernie Richardson's double-double in 1959 and '60, and 1962 and '63, which was split up by Hec Gervais's victory in 1961.
On the opposite end of the scale, Mark Dacey's rink was the last Canadian team not to advance to a worlds final as the Nova Scotia crew settled for bronze in 2004.
Martin, himself, finished second to Scotland's David Smith in 1991.
Last year, the Martin team ran up a 10-1 round-robin record, with its only blemish -- a 6-5 loss -- against China's Fenchung Wang.
Canada also lost the 1-2 Page playoff game 7-6 to Scotland's David Murdoch before defeating Norway's Thomas Ulsrud 5-4 in the semifinal, then doubling Murdoch 6-3 in the final.
Those three rinks are back again this year, plus you can throw in the names of Germany's Andy Kapp, Switzerland's Ralph Stoeckli and American John Shuster as the frontrunners. There are wild cards, as well.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
There is nobody that I feel more comfortable with representing Canada at the World Curling Championships than Kevin Martin. The 'Old Bear' is too wise and cagey to take anything for granted on the world stage.
If anyone can bring back the gold to Canada and Edmonton, it’s this team. Good luck to Team Martin, with St. Albert’s own Marc Kennedy playing second. Do us all proud, guys, and bring home those World gold medals!
City, Pool Group To Meet Over Change Rooms
02/04/2009 03:00
Fundraising society questions safety of proposed unisex facility
City administration and the Friends of the Queen Elizabeth Pool Society meet on Thursday to discuss plans for a co-ed change room that have almost derailed the project.
"We will get this resolved, we will," said John Stobbe, spokesman for the non-profit group.
The society and city appeared at loggerheads in recent days over designs for a universal change room that would be used by both genders. The change room would have individual stalls. There would be separate washrooms.
The society threatened to withhold $300,000 that it had raised for the $5.1-million project unless the designs were revamped.
Stobbe said his group had safety concerns about the change rooms, which were not addressed by the city's community services department. Stobbe did not see an artist's rendering of the change room until a picture appeared in Tuesday's Journal.
"It might have changed some people's thoughts at the time," he said about the pictures. "They did not give us confidence that this is safe."
Rob Smyth, a manager in the community services department, said the change-room designs have been around for some time, but community groups naturally focused more on the aquatic facilities.
"We've tried to share all of the information we have," he said.
Smyth warned this week's meeting would not result in a final decision on the change rooms.
"We're not going to solve all of the problems Thursday morning," he said. "It's to get the ball rolling to re-engage the conversation."
The Queen Elizabeth pool project has been in the works almost five years after the original, 1920s-era pool closed because of a crack.
There have been debates about costs of redeveloping the pool and the location.
The new pool is to be built on the north side of the Kinsmen Sports Centre.
It would be the first new outdoor pool built here in several decades.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Wow! What a novel concept, folks – the two opposing sides are actually going to sit down and talk to each other face-to-face in order to try to work out their differences, instead of continuing to do it through the media.
Several Months In Canadian Jail For Ex-NHLer Danton
02/04/2009 03:00
Not eligible for immediate parole
TORONTO - Former NHL player Mike Danton will likely spend at several months in Canadian custody even though his time in an American prison for a failed murder-for-hire plot has made him eligible for parole, correctional officials said Wednesday.
Danton, a native of Brampton, Ont., pleaded guilty in November 2004 in a plot that allegedly targeted his former agent, David Frost, and was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in a U.S. federal prison.
The American sentence translates to six years, two months and 14 days, said Holly Knowles, spokeswoman with Correctional Services Canada.
"Essentially, he's subject to Canadian law now, which means there can be changes in terms of the sentencing length," Knowles said. "According to our sentences, he has reached his (parole) eligibility date."
Danton had been petitioning for transfer to a Canadian prison since 2005 and was transferred to an assessment centre in the Kingston, Ont., area on March 19, the date he reached full parole eligibility.
Carol Sparling, a spokeswoman for the National Parole Board, said no dates have been set for a hearing but added a review was automatic given the almost 4 1/2 years Danton served in the U.S.
"When someone is past their full parole eligibility date, the board is required to conduct a hearing - the offender doesn't have to make an application," Sparling said.
Danton could possibly waive his right to parole.
In any event, correctional services would first make a "thorough assessment" of his case for presenting to the parole board.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The bizarre and twisted saga of ex-NHLer Mike Danton and his former agent, David Frost, continues.
'Riders Only CFL Team To Exceed 2008 Salary Cap
02/04/2009 03:00
TORONTO -- Once again the Saskatchewan Roughriders are going to have to pay for being bitten hard by the injury bug.
The CFL released results of the annual audit of its eight member teams Tuesday, and the Roughriders were the only club to exceed the $4.2-million salary cap in '08.
The audit revealed Saskatchewan exceeded the cap by $87,147 and as a result will have to pay a fine of that amount to the league. Injuries were the primary reason why the Riders went over the cap. At one point last season the team had upwards of 20 regulars on its injured list.
According to 980 CJME Radio in Regina, general manager Eric Tillman has suggested having the league to drop the 9-game injured list down to six games because players don't usually take nine weeks to recover from injury.
"I think we'll continue to press that issue of a six game instead of a nine but at the end of the day it has to be agreed upon by all the teams," Riders President and CEO Jim Hopson told the radio station, speaking on behalf of Tillman, who is on administrative leave.
But CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon is not in a hurry to make any changes to the league's salary cap system.
More from Canadian Press.
'Riders fined for exceeding salary cap.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Why is this not surprising, folks, that the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team in the CFL to exceed the 2008 salary cap?
Weir Does Bulk Of Masters Preparation This Week
02/04/2009 03:00
The week of the Masters has become one big routine for Mike Weir.
He'll follow the exact same practice schedule as in years past. He'll attend the champions dinner on Tuesday and participate in the par-3 tournament on Wednesday. And he'll stay at the same house that he's been renting for a couple years.
Weir will play in his 10th Masters next week and figures the most important tradition of all is finding time to relax during some of the busiest days of the season.
"I try not to overwork," he said Tuesday on a conference call. "I try to get a lot of my work done before I get there because it's such a long week and such a grind mentally. A lot of guys kind of burn out by wanting to practice so much. You get tired in majors.
"That's what I've learned over the years is that you do your prep work -- your real hard practising -- the week before you get there and you kind of ease into the week."
That work is currently being done at Weir's home base in Utah.
The Masters tends to be won and lost on the tough greens at Augusta National so he'll be focusing a lot on his putting stroke. A little ingenuity allows him to do that from the comfort of his own home.
"I have some fast carpet in my basement that I'll be working on quite a bit because those greens are so fast and so different from what we've played the last few weeks in Florida," said Weir.
It's been a pretty solid start to the season so far.
Weir made the cut in six of seven events and had a good chance to win two of them -- finishing second at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and third at the Bob Hope Classic.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It would be really nice to see Mike Weir do well at the Masters again, although I must admit that I will be cheering for Tiger Woods.
Over Zealous Cop Pays The Price With His Job
02/04/2009 03:00
Cop who stopped NFL player in hospital parking lot resigns
DALLAS -- The police officer who pulled out his gun and threatened an NFL player with jail instead of allowing him inside a hospital where his mother-in-law was dying resigned Wednesday.
Officer Robert Powell had been placed on paid leave pending an investigation of the March 18 incident.
"I made this decision in the hope that my resignation will allow the Dallas Police Department, my fellow officers and the citizens of Dallas to better reflect on this experience, learn from the mistakes made, and move forward," Powell said in a statement issued through his lawyers.
He had stopped Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center in suburban Plano after the vehicle rolled through a red light.
The officer pulled out his gun and threatened Moats with jail as the player and his family pleaded to be allowed to go inside the hospital. Powell continued writing Moats a ticket and lecturing him even after a fellow officer confirmed that Moats' mother-in-law was dying.
Jonetta Collinsworth, 45, died of breast cancer before Powell allowed Moats to go inside the hospital.
Powell later issued an apology, and Moats said he would accept it.
"I still hope to speak with the Moats family to personally express my deep regret, sympathy, and to apologize for my poor judgment and unprofessional conduct," he said in the Wednesday statement.
He also said he wanted to apologize to his fellow officers.
A call to Dallas police was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Dallas police Chief David Kunkle previously apologized to the family and said Powell acted inappropriately. He also lauded Moats' restraint, noting that he did not try to seek special treatment by identifying himself as an NFL player.
Moats, 26, explained that he had waited until there was no traffic before continuing through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.
According to video from a dashboard camera inside the officer's vehicle, Moats' wife, Tamishia Moats, and another woman disregarded Powell's order to get back inside their vehicle, and they rushed into the hospital. After Powell yelled at Tamishia Moats to stay in the SUV, she said, "Excuse me, my mom is dying -- do you understand?"
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Every once in a while it’s nice to see these over zealous cops get what’s coming to them, isn’t it folks?
World No. 1 Ochoa Looks To Regain Putting Form
02/04/2009 03:00
Lorena Ochoa hopes to draw inspiration from memories of last year
World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa will be seeking to rediscover her putting touch when she defends her title at this week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, the opening women's major of the season.
The Mexican has posted three top-10s in her first four LPGA Tour starts this year, including victory at the LPGA Thailand, but she struggled on the greens at last week's LPGA International.
"I'm very happy with my driver, it's just I didn't have anything going this week," the 27-year-old told reporters after tying for 15th at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, on Sunday.
"I feel like I haven't played too bad, but the score hasn't shown anything. I just didn't feel comfortable (on the greens). It's very disappointing. Better this week than at the Kraft Nabisco though."
Ochoa will be able to draw on stirring memories on her return to the California desert for this week's tournament at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
Twelve months ago, she underlined her dominance in the women's game by charging to a second successive major title by five shots with a flawless 5-under-par 67.
On a breezy, sun-drenched day, she pulled away from the field to clinch the 20th LPGA victory of her career, and a second major crown to add to the 2007 Women's British Open.
"That was a great day," Ochoa recalled. "I played like the British Open. It was something that I enjoyed a lot and it was very easy at the same time.
"I've learned that I can go low and win a tournament by a few shots and I'm going to try to continue that," she added.
The popular Mexican heads a typically strong field for the first women's major of the year.
Twice-champion Karrie Webb of Australia is back, fresh from her two-stroke victory in Phoenix on Sunday when she closed with a 5-under 67.
"That meant a lot to me," former world No. 1 Webb said, after ending a title drought of two years on the LPGA Tour.
"Winning on the LPGA against the best players in the world is very important to me."
Also playing is Taiwan's Tseng Yani, who won her first major title in a playoff for last year's LPGA Championship in her rookie season, and became the fastest player in Tour history to earn $2 million by tying for fourth in Phoenix on Sunday.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s only a matter of time, folks, until Ochoa busts out of this funk she’s been in and starts winning regularly on the LPGA Tour again. And, there’s no better time to start than this week, is there?
Eri Yoshida: 'I Will Not Stay Content'
02/04/2009 03:00
Teenager Eri Yoshida first female to play for professional men's team in baseball-crazy Japan
It was only nine pitches, but it was a start.
Seventeen-year-old Eri Yoshida became the first woman to play professional baseball with men in Japan when she took the mound at the weekend in a new independent league.
Her tally: one walk, one strikeout -- and thousands of curious fans.
Yoshida drew more than 11,000 spectators to her debut with the Kobe 9 Cruise, a record for an independent league game in a baseball-crazy nation whose men's national team just brought home the World Baseball Classic title.
"I want to increase the number of women playing baseball," Yoshida said.
The pint-sized pitcher wowed the Cruise in tryouts with her baffling knuckleball, and the club say she is anything but a marketing gimmick.
"We haven't picked her because she is a woman," team owner Kazuyo Hirota said. "We want people to see her play for themselves." Yoshida made her debut Friday night, summoned in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Cruise leading the Osaka Gold Villicanes 5-0, and had a shaky start.
She walked her first batter, Yosuke Hiramatsu, on four straight pitches but then struck out the second, whiffing Takayuku Furuya on a 2-2 fastball that was clocked at 97 km/h.
"One pitch fluttered and dropped, and there was another that just carried," Hiramatsu said. "I haven't seen such pitches before." Yoshida, who was pulled after just the two batters, said she wasn't satisfied with her performance.
"I will not stay content with that," she said. "I want to pitch a whole inning or two." Standing at five-foot-one and weighing 115 pounds, Yoshida made headlines when she signed with Kobe to play in the new Kansai Independent Baseball League.
A women's professional baseball league existed in Japan before -- for two years, 1950-1951 -- and the country's women are a softball powerhouse, winning Olympic gold in Beijing last year.
But the tiny right-handed Yoshida is the first to play a Japanese pro game with men.
A Yokohama native who started playing baseball at age eight, Yoshida decided to try out for the Cruise with her brother "to see what it was like." Her brother failed.
But Yoshida, who says she has studied film of Boston Red Sox knuckleball master Tim Wakefield, wowed the scouts with her version of the fluttering, keep-them-guessing pitch. And in a country that expects nothing less than excellence on the diamond, her performance appeared to win over fans.
"Her pitches might still look a little questionable," the hometown Kobe Shimbun newspaper said.
"But fans in the bleachers warmly accepted a high-school girl standing on the mound with the pros." Just being out there won't be enough for Yoshida, though.
"I want to remain an active player as long as possible," she said. "I want to become a leader in women's baseball one day."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s going to be very interesting to follow Yoshida’s baseball career over the next little while.
Be Careful Out There - It's April Fools Day . . .
01/04/2009 03:44
The 10 Best April
Fools
Jokes
Ever
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#2: Sidd Finch
1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV
1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
#5: San Serriffe
1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.
#6: Nixon for President
1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.
#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi
1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper
1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."
#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
#2: Sidd Finch
1985: Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information. In reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
#3: Instant Color TV
1962: In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
#5: San Serriffe
1977: The British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic said to consist of several semi-colon-shaped islands located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian's phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Only a few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.
#6: Nixon for President
1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.
#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi
1998: The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Soon the article made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly spread around the world, forwarded by email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by physicist Mark Boslough.
#8: The Left-Handed Whopper
1998: Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."
#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
1995: Discover Magazine reported that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had found a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
SINC
SAYS:
So there you
have it folks. What prank will you play
on your friends and family today? I'll
bet it's not as good as the one I've
played on you today. BUT, can you find
it?
The Wisdom Of Will Rogers . . .
01/04/2009 03:44
I'm not a member of
any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!
I'm not a real movie star. I've still got the same wife I started out with twenty-eight years ago.
If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them.
If I studied all my life, I couldn't think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of congress.
If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?
If the other fellow sells cheaper than you, it is called dumping. 'Course, if you sell cheaper than him, that's mass production.
NL Marks 60th Confederation Anniversary With Whispers
01/04/2009 03:44
No tributes, no
ceremonies and no parties are planned to mark
the 60th anniversary on Tuesday of Newfoundland
and Labrador joining
Canada.Premier Danny Williams had planned last fall to hold a celebration to mark both the anniversary and the province's recent designation as a so-called "have" province, as Newfoundland and Labrador no longer qualifies for equalization.
But Williams said with the national economy in disarray and many people in Newfoundland and Labrador still mourning the 17 people killed in the March 12 Cougar helicopter crash, it would be wrong to host a party.
"It's not a time for celebration, and it's not appropriate," said Williams, noting the government had already scaled back its have-status plans well before the Cougar crash.
Williams said the quiet marking of the anniversary has nothing to do with his endless political wars with the federal government.
"We are very proud as a province to be part of Canada," Williams said Monday in St. John's.
"Canada is a great country and despite the fact that we may have differences of opinion from time to time with various governments, that certainly wouldn't impede an overall celebration," said Williams.
"But, at this particular point in time, we just really sincerely feel that it's not appropriate."
Williams said some members of the legislature may rise on Tuesday to pay tribute to the Confederation anniversary.
Marking the diamond anniversary so quietly stands in contrast to previous anniversaries. In 1974, a full year of celebrations — including concerts and even a tribute record album consisting of songs composed just for the event — was organized. In 1999, then premier Brian Tobin presided over Soiree '99, which marked the golden anniversary as a tourism marketing event.
SINC SAYS:
If leading by example scores political points, St. Albert’s city council could take a lesson here and cancel the birthday bash they have planned on the taxpayers back.
Are you reading
this council
members?
I said, are you
reading this council
members?
A TOAST TO THE TOASTER . . .
01/04/2009 03:44
100 YEARS OLD
AND
STILL GOING
STRONG
The cleverest little kitchen gadget since – well, long before sliced bread surprisingly – celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
When Frank Shailor, a technician with General Electric, dreamed up his D12 toaster in 1909, it was 20 years before there was such a thing as a sliced loaf.
He invented it so people could still eat bread that was going stale and it was an overnight success. Bits of bread were simply wedged inside the exposed “wire fence”.
Unfortunately, this would prove quite hazardous because the bread had to be turned by hand to make sure both sides were toasted.
After a decade of people getting their fingers burnt came the first covered, pop-up toaster in 1919.
This led to the world’s first automatic electric toaster, the Toastmaster, in 1926.
When Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a machine to slice bread in 1928, no home could be without a toaster.
The gadget has been through so many incarnations, there is a museum in Kettwig, Germany, with almost every toaster ever made, including the willow-patterned Pan Electric Toastrite and the modernist 1930s Saluta revolving toaster in nickel-plated steel and red Bakelite.
A spokesman for breadmakers Kingsmill said: “Bread has been a staple part of our diet for 6,000 years, but toasting is relatively new and it’s interesting that the process hasn’t changed that much in 100 years.
“The 1926 Toastmaster looks pretty similar to the toasters we have in our kitchens today.”
SINC SAYS:
It’s funny how people take the toaster for granted. Everyone has and uses one, but it is rarely even mentioned in passing on any given day.
The cleverest little kitchen gadget since – well, long before sliced bread surprisingly – celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
When Frank Shailor, a technician with General Electric, dreamed up his D12 toaster in 1909, it was 20 years before there was such a thing as a sliced loaf.
He invented it so people could still eat bread that was going stale and it was an overnight success. Bits of bread were simply wedged inside the exposed “wire fence”.
Unfortunately, this would prove quite hazardous because the bread had to be turned by hand to make sure both sides were toasted.
After a decade of people getting their fingers burnt came the first covered, pop-up toaster in 1919.
This led to the world’s first automatic electric toaster, the Toastmaster, in 1926.
When Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a machine to slice bread in 1928, no home could be without a toaster.
The gadget has been through so many incarnations, there is a museum in Kettwig, Germany, with almost every toaster ever made, including the willow-patterned Pan Electric Toastrite and the modernist 1930s Saluta revolving toaster in nickel-plated steel and red Bakelite.
A spokesman for breadmakers Kingsmill said: “Bread has been a staple part of our diet for 6,000 years, but toasting is relatively new and it’s interesting that the process hasn’t changed that much in 100 years.
“The 1926 Toastmaster looks pretty similar to the toasters we have in our kitchens today.”
SINC SAYS:
It’s funny how people take the toaster for granted. Everyone has and uses one, but it is rarely even mentioned in passing on any given day.
Countdown To The 2009 Masters . . .
01/04/2009 03:44
Countdown To The 2009
Masters . . .
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 14 – Greg Norman Blows Four Shot Lead In 1996 Masters, Loses To Nick Faldo
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Nick Faldo and Greg Norman embrace on the 18th hole after an epic battle, which saw Faldo overtake Norman on Sunday.
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 14 – Greg Norman Blows Four Shot Lead In 1996 Masters, Loses To Nick Faldo
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Nick Faldo and Greg Norman embrace on the 18th hole after an epic battle, which saw Faldo overtake Norman on Sunday.
City Not Throwing In Towel On Unisex Change Room
01/04/2009 03:44
Unisex facility ‘different’ but has advantages
Plans to build a unisex change room with individual stalls at the Queen Elizabeth pool might be revisited, but the city doesn't want to abandon the controversial concept altogether.
The project has been placed in jeopardy since details of the change room design recently emerged.
The plans include a change room with 25 stalls that would be large enough to accommodate families or people with disabilities who require an attendant.
The change room would be open to men and women.
People would be expected to change in the stalls and not the main room.
That proposal is being vigorously opposed by the Friends of the Queen Elizabeth Pool Society, which has lobbied for years for the facility and has raised almost $400,000 for the project.
"We'd like to go down this path, recognizing that it's different than what we're used to in this city," said Rob Smyth, the city's manager of recreation facility services.
When asked if there might be any opportunity to redesign the change room, Smyth said, "I'm not going to say no."
However, the city must continue to "explore new ways of delivering services to the public," he said.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Does this headline sound like another city administration you know folks? They won’t be told what to do about anything? Yup, sounds pretty close to home, alright. Wouldn’t the prudent thing have been to design the facility, as Spruce Grove did with their Tri Leisure Centre, with both unisex and separate male/female change rooms? Naw . . .
Golf Rises, But Isn’t Out Of The 'Woods' Yet
01/04/2009 03:44
Tiger's triumph eases gloom from his absence and struggling economy
With his extraordinary gift for near-perfect timing, Tiger Woods announced his return to the winner's circle with a sensational victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
In only his third tournament back since reconstructive knee surgery, the American world No. 1 overhauled a five-stroke deficit to triumph by a shot, giving golf and sport in general a much-needed boost.
Woods' eight-month absence dealt golf a major blow, especially at a time when the global financial crisis had begun to take a firm hold.
He shut down his 2008 campaign immediately after winning the U.S. Open in June, and a Tiger-less golf world automatically led to plunging television ratings.
For many people, Tiger Woods is golf. He has almost single-handedly ushered in an era of multimillion-dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money since turning professional in 1996.
His Afro-American/Asian background has spread the sport to an audience far beyond its traditional image of male, white and middle-class, and he has become the world's best known and most marketable athlete.
Golf, in his absence, began to resemble the fairy-tale ball without Cinderella. His long-awaited return at last month's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was celebrated by the PGA Tour with huge relief and joy.
Just two events later, Woods clinched his 66th Tour title in vintage fashion by holing a 16-foot birdie putt at the last.
Next, all eyes will be on the game's leading player when he bids for a fifth green jacket at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., April 9-12.
"We need him back and we're all excited to have him back," said American world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, a double winner on the 2008 PGA Tour. "It's evident the game needs him.
"The economy has been struggling, the sponsors have been struggling, and to have him back is so critical for the sport."
However, the return of an in-form Tiger does not mean all is now well within the golfing world.
Because of the deteriorating global economic landscape, the PGA Tour faces an uncertain future, with turmoil in the auto and financial services sectors leaving the sport vulnerable to the loss of marketing and advertising dollars.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Make no mistake about it, folks, Tiger Woods IS PGA golf right now. The tour, and everyone associated with it, is much better off with Tiger’s return.
Traffic Cop Keeps Player From Seeing Dying Relative
01/04/2009 03:44
PLANO, Texas (AP) - A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.
Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.
"I can screw you over," he said at one point in the videotaped incident. When another officer came with word that Moats' mother-in-law was indeed dying, Powell's response was: "All right. I'm almost done."
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle apologized to the family and announced that Powell would be on paid leave pending an internal investigation.
"When we at the command staff reviewed the tape, we were embarrassed, disappointed," Kunkle said. "It's hard to find the right word and still be professional in my role as the police chief. But the behavior was not appropriate."
Powell, 25, a three-year member of the force, stopped Moats' SUV outside Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano after Moats rolled through a red light.
More from foxsports.com
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Cheez, what a surprise – an overzealous cop!
Where Does Tiger Rank On The List Of Clutch Performers?
01/04/2009 03:44
On Sunday Tiger Woods added another section into what is quickly becoming the "War and Peace" of sporting resumes.
Only nine months after knee surgery, Woods won his 66th career victory in impressive fashion, tracking down tournament leader Sean O'Hair and clinching the win with a birdie on his final hole.
Woods started the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational five off the pace. As the day progressed, he seemed to feed off the pressure to turn in another memorable victory.
Just prior to his knee surgery last year, Woods turned in another clutch performance as he won the U.S. Open essentially playing on one leg. He gutted out a playoff win over Rocco Mediate limping from hole to hole and grimacing after every shot.
It is easy to say Woods is the most dominant golfer of his, or perhaps any other, generation. The question becomes, where does he rank in terms of the greatest clutch performers in the history of sport?
Michael Jordan always seemed to be at his best during the big games. He possessed that extra gear, the ability to seemingly make himself better when his team needed him the most.
One of his more noteworthy moments came during the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Jordan fought through a severe flu and put up 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists over 44 minutes, and at the end of the game he crumbled into Scottie Pippen's arms, exhausted. The performance not only helped the Bulls win the game, it changed the momentum of the series as the Jazz had won two straight. Jordan scored 39 points and 11 rebounds in Game 6 as the Bulls won the championship.
Curt Schilling was also able to rise to the occasion during big games. He crafted an 11-2 career postseason record with a 2.23 ERA over 133.1 innings. The right-hander delivered a heroic performance in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. Pitching on a dislocated ankle tendon, held in place by sutures, Schilling threw seven innings, giving up one run in the Red Sox' victory. Boston went on to win Game 7 and complete a shocking comeback after being down 3-0 to the Yankees in the series.
Joe Montana always appeared in control, no matter what situation presented itself, 'Joe Cool' seemed ready to do the impossible. In Super Bowl XXIII he put together a 92-yard final drive with 34 seconds left to give the San Francisco 49ers a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Patrick Roy will go down as one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the National Hockey League. His career regular season numbers (551-315 record, 2.54 GAA) are impressive, but his 151-94 career postseason mark combined with 23 shutouts and 2.30 GAA cannot be ignored.
During the 1993 playoffs Roy put together a postseason for the ages going 16-4 with a 2.13 GAA and had an amazing 10 overtime victories.
Over the years fans have been treated to countless clutch athletes and while impossible to name them all, Woods must be considered on any list. Where he ranks is up to you - click the 'Your Call' button below and tell us where Tiger fits on your list of clutch performers.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
To provide your feedback as to where you think Tiger ranks, click here.
Ballesteros Speaks Publicly About Cancer Fight
01/04/2009 03:44
MADRID -- An emotional Seve Ballesteros has spoken publicly for the first time about his fight against a cancerous brain tumour.
Ballesteros, 51, looked frail and thin in photos published by Spanish sports daily Marca on Tuesday along with the golf great's first interview since he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in the right side of his brain nearly six months ago.
"This is the most important shot of my life. I'm fighting to win my sixth major," Marca quoted the five-time major winner as saying. "Life has given me a second chance."
The newspaper said Ballesteros was frequently overcome by emotion as he talked about his fight toward recovery. He began his fourth round of chemotherapy Saturday after undergoing four separate surgeries.
"I'm not called Seve Ballesteros, I'm called Seve Mulligan because I've had the luck to be given a mulligan, which in golf is a second chance," he said. "I've been given the mulligan of my life. The proof is that I'm alive, that I can do things, that I speak, I'm perfectly able to reason.
"I've had a lot of luck, which is the truth."
Ballesteros fainted on an escalator at Madrid's International airport on Oct. 5 and rebuffed airport staff wishes for him to seek medical attention before meeting his nephew Ivan, who took him to Madrid's La Paz hospital after he collapsed again.
Ballesteros said he would never forget the moment doctors confirmed what the scans had discovered.
"They were clear with me, they told me: 'It's a tumour, the luck is that it's on the right side so we'll do a biopsy to see what it is,"' he said. "In that moment it hit me, the shock of it. You're well and suddenly they tell you this, can you imagine? I was going to eat (lunch) with my son."
Ballesteros, who was checked into hospital under the alias Antonio Dominguez Sota, said he remained upbeat most days, cracking jokes with staff and other patients and trying to keep his spirits up amid the surgeries, which all occurred within 15 days.
"The operation was perfect. The worst was the post-operations, which were difficult, very difficult. There were many inconveniences, and it's not that I had any pain. The pain . . . was interior," Ballesteros said.
Ballesteros said he was deeply touched by the get-well cards and wishes he received from all over the world, which he numbered at 300,000.
"During all of these years I was always very centered on my work. I knew they admired me, what I didn't know is that the people loved me so much," Ballesteros said before breaking down into tears, the newspaper reported. "It's like you're living in a bad dream. But I know it's only a question of time."
Ballesteros' competitive spirit also seemed intact. He said his brother Baldomero told him that after waking up from one of his operations his first words were: "British Open. Must win it Saturday."
Ballesteros won a record 50 times on the European tour. He also has three British Open trophies and two Masters titles, becoming the youngest winner at Augusta before Tiger Woods trumped his record.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Cancer of the brain is a terrible, terrible disease. SWIVEL HIPS had someone very close to him pass away from a malignant brain tumor 15 years ago. We wish you the very best, Seve, and a full and speedy recovery.
Longtime Football Coach Lou Saban Dies At 87
01/04/2009 03:44
He was a star football player in college, a champion pro football coach, a baseball president, a man with a short temper and very long resume, never averse to tackling something new.
Nobody has ever done it quite like Lou Saban, who died early Sunday at his home in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., at age 87. He had heart problems for years and recently suffered a fall that required hospitalization, his wife, Joyce, said.
"He was an original," she said. "He was one of a kind."
There was a reason Saban was dubbed "Much Traveled Lou." In the first 33 years of a career that spanned five decades, Saban held 18 jobs, an average of 1.83 years per stop. Among those jobs was president of the New York Yankees from 1981-82 for his longtime friend, team owner George Steinbrenner.
"He has been my friend and mentor for over 50 years, and one of the people who helped shape my life," Steinbrenner, who was receivers coach under Saban at Northwestern University in 1955, said in a statement. "Lou was tough and disciplined, and he earned all the respect and recognition that came his way. He spent a lifetime leading, teaching and inspiring, and took great satisfaction in making the lives around him better. This is a tremendous loss to me personally."
Louis Henry Saban, a son of Yugoslav immigrants, was born in Brookfield, Ill., in 1921, was an underground construction worker during the building of the Chicago subways and a 1940 graduate of Lyons Township High School.
He became a star quarterback and linebacker at Indiana University and an all-league linebacker for the Cleveland Browns from 1946-49.
In 1950, Saban accepted the first of his many head coaching positions - at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. Five years later, he took over at Northwestern for two years, then moved to Western Illinois University before embarking on an unmatched head coaching career.
It included stops with the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills of the old American Football League and Denver Broncos and Bills after the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, along with college jobs at Miami, Army, Northwestern and Maryland.
"The entire Bills organization is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Saban," the team said in a statement. "Talented, enthusiastic and colorful, Coach Saban's style of coaching left an indelible mark on the AFL and professional football."
Saban joined the Patriots in 1960 when the AFL started.
"As the Patriots' first head coach, Lou helped kick off a new era of football in Boston," Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a statement. "This season, we will be celebrating the Patriots' 50th anniversary and reflecting back on that inaugural season. It should give us all cause to appreciate Lou's many contributions during the Patriots' formative years."
Saban left for the Bills in 1962, guiding them to AFL championships in 1964 and 1965, the only titles the Bills have ever won. He quit for a job with the Broncos because of difficulties with owner Ralph Wilson.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Football has lost a true legend – RIP Lou.
Underhill, Martini And Orser Into World Figure Skating Hall
01/04/2009 03:44
LOS ANGELES -- Barbara Underhill, Paul Martini and Brian Orser were part of one of Canadian figure skating's most successful eras some two decades ago.
The three were honoured Saturday for their contributions to the sport when they were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the world figure skating championships at the Staples Center.
Underhill and Martini captured gold for Canada in pairs 25 years ago in Ottawa, and went on to a successful pro career.
"Time goes too fast, man, it just goes way too fast," Martini said. "You don't realize how much has gone by until something like this comes along and slaps you hard in the face, and 25 years has gone by. It seems like yesterday."
The Canadian pairs team captured the country's first gold medal in 11 years when they won the 1984 world championships at the Civic Centre, and their long program is still considered one of the greatest moments in Canadian sports history.
"I was standing out there thinking, this is the end of a really great long run in skating and we couldn't have picked a better time," Underhill said. "Our timing was impeccable in terms of when we won worlds, when we turned professional and just the ride that we took."
Orser, the 1987 world champion and '88 Olympic silver medallist, received the Hall of Fame honour just hours before taking his spot along the boards to coach South Korean sensation Kim Yu-na.
"The timing for this is really good," Orser said.
"I'm believe I'm being honoured because of my skating contribution to the sport, but now that I'm coaching, do I get to go in again if I get great success? I don't know," Orser added laughing.
Kurt Browning was the last Canadian to go into the Hall, inducted in 2006.
The other 2009 inductees were Aja Zanova, a Czech who was the first world skating champion to defect from communist Europe; Willy Bietak, a skating choreographer from Austria; and Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin of Russia, who won the 1908 Olympics.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Barbara Underhill, Paul Martini and Brian Orser on their elections to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. They are truly some of the Canadian figure skating legends and all-time greats.
Man On Motorized Barstool Charged With DUI
31/03/2009 06:07
Newark police say the
man crashed earlier this month when he tried to
make a U-turn on a city
street.
Neighbors heard what sounded like a lawnmower buzzing down Kelley Lane in Newark earlier this month. It turned out to be a motorized barstool which police say a man crashed while drunk.
Kile Wygle, 28, is charged with driving a barstool while under the influence of alcohol and driving with a suspended license. He's asked for a jury trial.
Police say Wygle crashed his strange-looking contraption while trying to make a U-turn on March 4.
According to a report, Wygle told Officer Michael Trotter that his barstool can reach speeds of 38 mph, but was only going 20 mph when he crashed.
Wygle was treated for minor injuries at Licking Memorial Hospital where he joked with Trotter about drinking 15 beers before the crash. He refused the blood-alcohol test.
SINC SAYS:
If you’re gonna drink and drive, I suppose a bar stool is most appropriate.
Google Unearthly . . .
31/03/2009 06:07
A FLEET of UFOs in
formation has been photographed — on
Google.The nine silver spheres hover above a row of shops, including a Coral bookies, on the internet giant’s new Street View service.
Sun reader Faye Sharpe, 18, discovered them while viewing her neighbourhood of Wolverley Street in Bethnal Green, East London.
Faye said: “I was checking out the road to see if I could spot my mates. I thought it looked very strange and zoomed in.
“I thought it was some planes but they look pretty close together for that. Maybe they are UFOs.”
Yesterday baffled ufologist Nick Pope said he was “very excited” by the image, which he labelled “truly fascinating”.
He added: “It appears to show nine objects flying in near perfect formation. About the only thing I know that can do this is the Red Arrows — and it’s not them.”
Mr Pope, who used to investigate sightings for the Ministry of Defence, said: “I’ve run through the list of possibilities that normally explain these things, but I can’t find an answer.”
Yesterday The Sun visited the street to talk to locals about the mysterious find. Holly Riding, 19, said: “It’s definitely weird.”
SINC SAYS:
They’re out there aren’t they? I knew it!
More Than A Skydiving Mishap?
31/03/2009 06:07
This cute tale sent
along courtesy of Rita in Spruce
Grove:A Blonde is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says, "Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident."
The blonde starts crying to her husband, sobbing "That's horrible!!! So many men dying that way!"
Confused, he says, "Yes dear, it is sad, but they were Skydiving, and there is always that risk involved."
After a few minutes, the blonde, still sobbing, says, "How many is a Brazilian anyway?"
A Sad Tale Of An Undeserved Nobel Prize For Al Gore
31/03/2009 06:07
In May 2008, a 98
year-old Polish lady named Irena Sendler
died.During WWII, she got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist but she had an ulterior motive. She KNEW of the Nazi's plans for the Jews. Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and, in the back of her truck, she had a burlap sack for the larger children.
She had a dog in the back of the truck that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the noise of the children.
She managed to smuggle out and save 2,500 children before she was caught; the Nazis broke both her legs and her arms and beat her severely.
Irena kept a record of the names of all the children that she smuggled out which she kept in a glass jar buried under a tree in her back yard. After the War, she tried to locate any parents that had survived and reunited the families. Most, of course, had been gassed but she helped those children to be placed into foster family homes or adopted.
SINC SAYS:
Here's the part that really sucks: In 2007, Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but was not selected. Al Gore won - for a slide show on Global Warming! Check it out.
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project.
Here's the part that really sucks: In 2007, Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but was not selected. Al Gore won - for a slide show on Global Warming! Check it out.
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project.
Countdown To The 2009 Masters . . .
31/03/2009 06:06
Countdown To The 2009
Masters . . .
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 13 – Phil Mickelson Wins His First Major, The 2004 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Phil Mickelson's first professional major victory was a long time coming, but the left-hander made it special thanks to a birdie putt on the final hole that lifted everyone's spirits.
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 13 – Phil Mickelson Wins His First Major, The 2004 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Phil Mickelson's first professional major victory was a long time coming, but the left-hander made it special thanks to a birdie putt on the final hole that lifted everyone's spirits.
Queen E’s Co-Ed Change Rooms Spark Furor
31/03/2009 06:06
Fundraising group for oåutdoor pool threatens to deny money
Plans to build a unisex change room inside the new Queen Elizabeth pool could threaten the project as a key fundraiser threatens to withdraw financial support over the design.
Fearing that the proposed common change room will put children at risk, John Stobbe, spokesman for Friends of the Queen Elizabeth Pool Society, said the organization will not hand over the remaining $300,000 it has pledged for the outdoor pool unless the city administration changes its design.
Construction is scheduled to begin in May.
"At this point, we're not giving any more money to the city until this is resolved to our satisfaction," said Stobbe.
The society, a community group of about 100 members, has been lobbying for a new pool and fundraising for many years. The group wrote a cheque to the city about a week ago for $100,000, the first quarter of its scheduled contribution.
Shortly thereafter, members learned of the unisex change rooms, also known as universal change rooms.
A previous design for the pool included a family change room, separate female and male change rooms and space for those with disabilities.
Rachel Dumont, project coordinator for the city's community services department, said it would be unfortunate if the project was halted over this dispute.
"Whether the project can proceed or not, I don't know at this point," Dumont said.
The design of the swimming complex (which also includes concession, ticket areas, washrooms and mechanical space) had to be substantially altered when the city cut the pool's budget in October, Dumont said.
City council gave the go-ahead for the new outdoor pool, to be built beside the Kinsmen Sports Centre, so long as it stayed within a budget of $5.1 million.
The project price at one time was estimated at $7.4 million.
The Queen Elizabeth pool, built in the North Saskatchewan river valley in the 1920s, was Edmonton's first municipal swimming facility. It closed about five years ago when the tank developed a crack.
The eroding slope below Saskatchewan Drive made the site too expensive to redevelop. Instead, a basic 25-metre, six-lane pool and spray park is planned for the north side of the Kinsmen Sports Centre.
The universal change area will feature about 22 enclosed cubicles of varying sizes which could accommodate from two people up to a family of four or five, said Dumont. Some of the cubicles will be wheelchair-accessible.
There is a gap between the bottom of the cubicle door and the floor of roughly 18 centimetres.
While budget played a role in the new change room design, Dumont said she believes the common change area is better for families, who make will make up the majority of pool users.
"This is the direction we want to go in," Dumont said.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
What next, folks? I really can’t believe this one. In this day and age of the “wacko” in our society, they were actually going to go ahead and construct the refurbished pool with co-ed change rooms? What are some people thinking? There are a lot of facilities that you can build so they’re co-ed. Locker room facilities are not one of them.
New Powerhouse Steps Onto World Curling Stage
31/03/2009 06:06
China avenges loss in ’08 final with victory over Sweden
A decade ago, the thought that a team from China could claim a world curling championship seemed preposterous.
Sunday, playing as close to home soil as possible, that once-outrageous idea became reality, and you can take it as an ironclad fact that Bingyu Wang’s squad from Harbin will be a podium favourite 11 months down the road in Vancouver.
Wang claimed China’s first championship by beating Sweden’s Anette Norberg, a two-time world and 2006 Olympic champion, 8-6 in the gold-medal game of the Mount Titlis world women’s championship at the Gangneung International Ice Rink.
And now, the focus turns to Vancouver next February, where China will be a gold-medal favourite.
“I hope so,” said an ecstatic Chinese coach Dan Rafael, a native of Lachine, Que.
“Do I believe it? Yes. I think so.”
He won’t be alone. Wang, third Yin Liu, second Qingshuang Yue and lead Yan Zhou, who lost to Canada’s Jennifer Jones in the final of last year’s world championship in Vernon, B.C., were the most consistent team here this week, leading the round-robin standings with a 10-1 record — its lone loss was to Jones in the round-robin opener — then beating Denmark’s Angelina Jensen in the Page playoff one vs. two game before its historic win over Sweden.
“I think this game was so difficult for us,” said Wang, a 24-year-old student. “We lost the final last year, and we really wanted to get the gold. Everybody worked hard; it was a long week.”
But the ending was oh-so sweet.
More from the Calgary Herald.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Powerhouse? Powerhouse? C’mon, folks, they just won their first women’s world curling championship. They can hardly be called a powerhouse. Let’s see how they do at next year’s Olympic games.
Tiger Roars To Life
31/03/2009 06:06
Woods completes thrilling comeback with birdie on final hole, appears ready for run at Masters
Tiger Woods came from five strokes behind to pass fellow American Sean O'Hair and win his 66th PGA Tour title in spectacular style at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.
Playing only his third tournament since returning from reconstructive knee surgery, Woods completed a record sixth victory in fading sunlight at the Bay Hill Club by sinking a 16-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win by a shot.
The world No. 1, who had been sidelined for eight months following his previous Tour win at the U.S. Open in June, closed with a 3-under-par 67 to match his biggest final-round comeback on the circuit.
In 2000, he overturned a five-shot deficit after 54 holes to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Woods finally caught O'Hair with a 26-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th and claimed the outright lead for the first time when his playing partner bogeyed 16 after hitting his approach into water.
Although Woods stumbled with a bogey at the par-3 17th, he calmly rolled in the 16-footer on the 18th green for a 5-under total of 275 and won $1.08 million US.
"It feels really good," the 33-year-old said in a greenside interview after celebrating his victory by backing away with a sweeping fist pump before embracing his caddie, Steve Williams.
"It feels good to be back in contention again and to feel the rush and to have to deal with everything coming down the stretch. It's been a while but it kind of felt good."
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Tiger strengthens lead atop world golf rankings.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
He’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Jones Rink Can’t Sweep Questions Aside
31/03/2009 06:06
Four years ago, Jennifer Jones and her Winnipeg curling team left Paisley, Scotland, medal-less and frustrated.
Even then, though, they made a brave attempt to concentrate on the positives from an otherwise dispiriting performance in their first trip to a world women's championship.
Suffice to say, this time around it might be tougher.
Then, the Canadians had some legitimate excuses. Horrible ice at the Lagoon Leisure Centre, A general lack of organization around the building (no time clocks, for example). And the eye-opening experience that goes along with a first trip to the world championship.
Here, there was none of that. The organization was superb. So was the ice. And it was a third trip to the worlds in five years for Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham and second Jill Officer (lead Dawn Askin joined the team in time for last season's title run).
And yet, there will be questions asked again: How can a team that is certainly among the top five on the planet, a team that will be a favourite heading to December's Olympic trials in Edmonton, and a team that has raised the art of clutch victories to a new level over the past two seasons, come up short in a field that, with all due respect to the World Curling Federation, pales in comparison to the one Jones topped in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in Victoria?
Rest assured, Jones and her team are asking the same questions.
"I think we were the best team out here," said Askin, a common refrain with her teammates. "But these things happen sometimes. Sometimes the best team doesn't come out on top."
You could make the argument China's Bingyu Wang, 10-1 in the round-robin and consistently terrific after losing her opener to Canada when teams were still figuring out rocks and ice, was the better team here.
Except when you break down the linescores, you would see Canada was three stolen ends away from a perfect record and a likely berth in the gold-medal game on Sunday.
Norberg stole two in their round-robin game to beat Canada when Jones was heavy on a draw; otherwise, Canada was in control.
Against Denmark, Canada controlled the entire game until the 10th end, when an Overton-Clapham miss led to the Danes' game-winning steal. And in the Page three-four game, Jones's final shot in the ninth end wrecked on a guard to give Norberg another stolen deuce (although in Jones's defence, there were plenty of misses from teammates leading up to her shot).
Take those steals away, and, well, you know the rest.
"Really, we shouldn't have had two losses at the end of the round-robin," said Overton-Clapham. "It's the way the week kind of went for us. We had a great week, and in my opinion, I thought we were best team here this week. Unfortunately, it just didn't go our way."
But here's the real question that needs to be asked about this team:Why in the world can't it take the easy way through an event?
More from the Calgary Herald.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I can’t say as I don’t have many of the same questions about Team Jennifer Jones myself.
Cherry Full Of Sour Grapes?
31/03/2009 06:06
Ovechkin basher may be jealous
Why does it bother us so much when Alex Ovechkin celebrates a goal?
That's his job . . . to score goals. He's the best goal scorer of his generation. So because Don Cherry is upset about this we need to talk about it for weeks? C'mon. This is a guy that coached the two best Boston Bruins teams of all time to playoff exits. In order to talk about these types of topics you need a resume of winning. Which he doesn't have.
Here's a guy who once said that I was never gonna last in the NHL. Well, we all know how that turned out. Bad guess.
Don't get me wrong, this guy is one of the best PR guys around, but as someone who actually played and had a lot of success in my day, I can't take it any longer. I'm calling a spade a spade on this one. The Washington Capitals are fun to watch and the reason is every guy on that team loves to score.
The NHL wants more scoring. Does Don Cherry want to sell the game? No, it's all about bashing the European players. The most successful team is the Detroit Red Wings. Uh, don't they have more European guys than any team in the league?
Or how about Craig Simpson saying that the goal I scored in Game 6 of the 1991 playoffs motivated their team for Game 7? Well, let me tell you the Oilers were so fired up that they were down 3-0 before you could say Jackie Robinson.
Mr. Cherry has a forum to sell the game when we need it the most and what is he doing? Picking on the European players. I thought the object of the game was that the team that scores the most goals wins. I guess Don didn't score too many goals in his day, so he has never experienced the feeling. Maybe he's jealous.
I like guys that make me feel part of the game and Ovechkin makes me feel as if I'm part of the game. I remember when I scored my first NHL goal--I wanted to jump out of my own skin. There is no better feeling than that.
Well, if the guys on the other team are p---ed off about Ovechkin's goal celebrations, then do something about it. Play harder against him. Good luck with that, though.
As a fan of the game, I want to see the guys who actually give two hoots about what they do on the ice. When they get excited about scoring, it makes me feel good inside and gets me closer to the game. You can't play hockey without emotion and excitement. It's what makes the game so great. You never know what the outcome is gonna be. Every second of every minute something could happen that makes part of history. I'm getting goose bumps writing about it.
The fans want to feel as much a part of the game as the players do and when Ovechkin scores, he shows a part of himself that the fans enjoy seeing.
I think hockey players are the best athletes in the world and because most of them are humble, we never get to see that they actually get excited. A perfect example is the game in Pittsburgh. Did anyone see the look on Hal Gill's face when he scored his second goal of the year? I want to see more of that.
If you listen to Kelly Hrudey, he is for the most part always positive when reporting. He gets it--he wants to sell the game. He appreciates reporting the good stuff. The NHL has an abundance of talent, so let these guys have some fun.
So celebrate when your team scores, just the way Alexander Ovechkin does.
Until next time, chew on that.
(THEOREN FLEURY WAS TALKING TO GEORGE JOHNSON)
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
As usual, folks, I think that Theoren Fleury is the one who is full of it – and not sour grapes, either.
Heil, Marquis Capture Gold At National Freestyles
31/03/2009 06:06
WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. - Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., and Vincent Marquis of Quebec City were gold-medal winners at the national freestyle ski championships Sunday.
Heil followed Friday's win in single moguls by winning Sunday's women's dual moguls for her 10th national senior titles in a star-studded career while Marquis won gold in the men's dual moguls.
The 2006 Olympic champion, who now has six single moguls and four dual-moguls national titles to her credit, tried to focus on speed for all four of her duals.
After winning the morning's qualification round, Heil defeated Christel Hamel and Henrianne Latour in her first two duals and then World Cup teammates Maxime Dufour-Lapointe and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe, both of Montreal, in the semi-finals.
"Overall, I'm really happy with my day," said Heil, 25. "I wanted to use every run to go my maximum, and I did. . . . It's a really good step in the right direction."
"My goal was to push today. I was trying to get closer and closer to Alex's times," she said of Alex Bilodeau of Rosemere, Que., who was the favourite in the men's dual moguls.
"It was just a really good note on which to end the season."
She won the tightly-fought dual to leave Chloe Dufour-Lapointe with the silver medal. The bronze went to Maxime Dufour-Lapointe while 2007 world moguls champion Kristi Richards of Pemberton, B.C., fourth.
Bilodeau, as the world's top-ranked male moguls skier and the 2009 dual moguls world champion, was the favourite entering the gold-medal dual but was edged by Marquis for the gold.
"He beat me twice this year (in duals), so this was a little bit of revenge for me," said Marquis, 24, who was third in single moguls and fourth in dual moguls at the world championships.
In defeating Bilodeau, Marquis said he was and wasn't surprised with the win.
"He's beatable, but I really need to be at my prime and him not so much so." Marquis, who had a lukewarm third-place showing in the morning's qualification, but his skiing got better as the sunny, cloudless day continued.
He won his opening duals against Jae Woo Choi and Jean-Michel Simard. Marquis then defeated Maxime Gingras of St-Hippolyte, Que., in the semifinals before moving onto the final.
Gingras, who was 11th in the 2009 world championship's dual moguls, defeated Eddie Hicks of Langley, B.C., in the bronze-medal dual.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Jenn Heil and Vincent Marquis. As I have said before, Spruce Grove’s Jenn Heil is really using this season as a great tune-up to Vancouver 2010, isn’t she? Do us all proud at Whister, Jenn, and bring home the Olympic gold!
Over To You, Mayor Crouse . . .
30/03/2009 07:08
Hi Don,
Can you ask the mayor please if he would consider supporting the relocation of the AltaLink power line if he were invited to the Springing into Life bird watching event on April 25 and 26?
I see from your web site that the city is giving a lot of money to the curling club:
"Looks like the St. Albert taxpayer will be supporting renovations to the St. Albert Curling Club (you know, the one Mayor Crouse was recently pictured curling in) to the tune of $825,000."
Maybe, if he could just see how many birders come to the only bird watching facility on Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, he would realize that birds are not just for the birds, but have economic benefits too.
He could have his picture taken with a huge scope, too.
Elke Blodgett
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
I doubt having his picture taken would change his feelings on the AltaLink decision Elke. But I do question spending nearly a million bucks on something used by so few residents of the city as the curling club. It is becoming harder to even begin to understand the thinking of this council. Their new motto must be, “What recession?”
TAXPAYER SURVEY:
Mayor Crouse Responds . . .
Well the answer is quite simple and that answer is that the City will continue to keep our infrastructure fixed up that is in need of repair.
We fix potholes and do overlays for car traffic. We fix bridges for all traffic needs. We fixed up Lacombe Park reservoir so we had drinking and firewater. We fixed up the old RCMP building for non profit users to use. We fixed up the Grandin Pool and its clubhouse which is public infrastructure.
The curling club refurbished the entire curling sheet area and put in a new ice plant over the past few years with no tax money and the 50 year old front is in need of major help.
Those cities across North America who don't invest in keeping their infrastructure maintained sometimes have catastrophic results.
Is it suggested by some that the curling club building (owned by the City) should be allowed to deteriorate?
Nolan Crouse
Mayor
City of St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Mayor Crouse forwarded a copy of his response to a taxpayer to St. Albert's Place regarding the curling club spending. I notice a couple of people have voted “Yes, I want my taxes to keep climbing” in our poll above. They must work at city hall. Either that or they’ve been drinking some of that “firewater” the mayor referred to in his response.
MAILBAG: About Those 'Light Bulb Police' . . .
30/03/2009 07:05
Hi Don,
It didn’t take long for the Light Bulb Police to berate those of us that did not turn lights off in order to comply with their brainwashed “save the earth” doctrine.
Here’s a message for those “Light Bulb Police” types: Get used to it, do your thing, look to yourself and mind your business. I leave a light bulb turned on, that’s my choice and nothing to do with you.
Unless of course you volunteer to pay my power bill.
Regards,
Robert Hartley
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
As I mentioned yesterday Robert, there are many effective ways to achieve the intended goal of saving the earth, but an “hour a year” is certainly not one of them.
MAILBAG: Ya Gotta Love Great Advice . . .
30/03/2009 07:03
Sinc,
Enjoyed the article about the health benefits of drinking regularly (in moderation, of course).
Thankfully, they made no mention of the size of each drink, so my current level of consumption appears to be about right.
BC
(in CALGARY)
SINC SAYS:
Yep, all you old souses can feel better about yourselves now.
A Visit To The Canada Revenue Agency
30/03/2009 07:00
A man was called in for an audit by CRS, so he asked his accountant for advice on what to wear.
"Wear your worst clothing and an old pair of shoes. Let them think you are a pauper," the accountant replied.
Then he asked his lawyer the same question, but got the opposite advice, "Don't let them intimidate you. Wear your best suit and an expensive tie."
Confused, the man went to his minister, told him of the conflicting advice, and asked him what he should do.
"Let me tell you a story," replied the minister. "A woman about to be married asked her mother what to wear on her wedding night. Her mother told her to wear a heavy, long, flannel nightgown that goes right up to your neck and wool socks. But when she asked her best friend, she got conflicting advice. Her friend told her to wear her most sexy negligee with a V-neck right down to her navel. "
The man protested, "But Reverend, what does all this have to do with my problem with the CRS?"
The Reverend replied, "It doesn't matter what you wear; you're still going to get screwed."
Pensioner Booked For Speeding . . .
30/03/2009 06:59
In a 1923 Model T
Ford that doesn't even have a
speedometer
When Dave Stanisfield went for a relaxed Sunday drive in his beloved 86-year-old Model T Ford, he expected to hold up traffic as he crawled along at less than 30mph.
But the baffled pensioner was apparently caught speeding in the 1923 two-gear 'Tin Lizzie' - a model so dated it does not even have a speedometer.
Mr Stanisfield, 67, went to court to prove what he thought was the utter ridiculousness of the claim.
Enlarge
'I'm no Lewis Hamilton': Dave Stanisfield, pictured with his beloved Model T, was caught by camera doing 35mph in a 30mph zone in the 86-year-old two-gear car.
But without direct proof of the speed he was travelling he was forced to give up his fight and pay £138 in fines.
The semi-retired mechanic was driving home on September 21 last year from a vintage car show when a Worcestershire speed camera flashed him travelling at 35mph in a 30mph zone.
He said: 'I didn’t think it could do 30mph. When it was new it could do 46mph but it’s nearly 90 years old now.
'I couldn’t believe it when I got the letter through the post. I was shocked.'
Mr Stanisfield, from Coventry, was so stunned that he went to court in a bid to avoid a £60 fine and three points on his licence.
He said: 'I’m no boy racer or Lewis Hamilton. I’m a 67-year-old man in an 86-year-old car.
'I couldn’t prove that I wasn’t doing that speed because I didn’t have a speedometer. But I was pretty sure.
'I’m an advanced driver and have great respect for the law and road safety. I don’t go racing about the place.'
Experts said today that motorists owning cars built before 1937 are allowed to drive without a speedometer and the devices are not required to pass an MOT.
But, faced with spiralling court costs, Mr Stanisfield pleaded guilty to speeding at Worcestershire Magistrates’ Court last week.
He said: 'I was travelling into Evesham from Cheltenham on a big wide road. It was a Sunday afternoon and there was no one about. I didn’t see the camera flash because the sun was so bright.
'In the end it was the wrong thing going to court because I still got three points and ended up paying £138 in fines and court costs.'
Mr Stanisfield bought the car 10 years ago for £1,000. He spent 15 months and a further £1,000 renovating it.
It was snapped by the speed camera on September 21 last year.
He added: 'It’s a lovely car. My friend’s daughter delayed her wedding twice so it would be ready to use for the ceremony.'
The Model T Ford was launched in Detroit in 1908. With a 10-gallon tank and optimum fuel consumption of 20 miles per gallon, it revolutionised the car industry by popularising private cars for everyday use.
Drivers use a level and a pedal to change gears, plus another pedal for reverse. There is no clutch and the throttle is found where motorists would expect to see modern indicators.
Matt Nicholls, owner of Classic Car Club Scotland, said: 'It's a wonderful car to look at and drive. In fact, a car doesn't need a speedometer.
‘It is not checked when a motorist goes for an MOT. A Model T Ford driver should be able to judge how fast he is going - and it's not likely to be very fast.'
SINC SAYS:
This is one case where the law is an ass. And come to think of it, an ass is likely faster than the car.
Britain Running Out Of Cocks
29/03/2009 19:25
Britain is
suffering
from a lack of
Cocks.
The number of people in Britain with amusing surnames like Cockshott, Balls, Death and Shufflebottom has declined by up to 75 percent in the last century - as people with silly names either fail to pass them on to the next generation, or leave the country entirely.
A study found the number of people with the name Cock shrank to 785 last year from 3,211 in 1881, those called Balls fell to 1,299 from 2,904 and the number of Deaths were reduced to 605 from 1,133.
People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.
Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth.
'If you find the (absolute) number goes down, it's either because they changed their names or they emigrated,' Webber, author of the study, told Reuters on Wednesday.
He said that in many cases, people probably changed their surnames as they came to be regarded as in bad taste.
'It's because the meaning of words can change. Take the name Daft - that as a term for a stupid is a relatively recent innovation.'
'That's why there are names which people think aren't really very pleasant names and you wonder why they persisted as long as they did.'
Webber, whose work can be seen on the website mapyourname.com, obtained his data for 2008 from a credit card firm and a mapping service. He then compared it with the census of 1881.
Webber also discovered that the most popular names in Britain have not changed over the past 127 years.
Last year, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor and Davies held the top six spots, in exactly the same order as they did a century ago.
Webber also found that between 1996 and 2008, the names Zhang, Wang, and Yang and experienced the fastest growth. Zhang rose by 4719 percent, while Wang grew by 2225 percent.
SINC SAYS:
I was going to write something amusing here folks, but the quote from the story itself can’t be bettered: “Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth.”
The number of people in Britain with amusing surnames like Cockshott, Balls, Death and Shufflebottom has declined by up to 75 percent in the last century - as people with silly names either fail to pass them on to the next generation, or leave the country entirely.
A study found the number of people with the name Cock shrank to 785 last year from 3,211 in 1881, those called Balls fell to 1,299 from 2,904 and the number of Deaths were reduced to 605 from 1,133.
People named Smellie decreased by 70 percent, Dafts by 51 percent, Gotobeds by 42 percent, Shufflebottoms by 40 percent, and Cockshotts by 34 percent, said Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King's College, London.
Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth.
'If you find the (absolute) number goes down, it's either because they changed their names or they emigrated,' Webber, author of the study, told Reuters on Wednesday.
He said that in many cases, people probably changed their surnames as they came to be regarded as in bad taste.
'It's because the meaning of words can change. Take the name Daft - that as a term for a stupid is a relatively recent innovation.'
'That's why there are names which people think aren't really very pleasant names and you wonder why they persisted as long as they did.'
Webber, whose work can be seen on the website mapyourname.com, obtained his data for 2008 from a credit card firm and a mapping service. He then compared it with the census of 1881.
Webber also discovered that the most popular names in Britain have not changed over the past 127 years.
Last year, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor and Davies held the top six spots, in exactly the same order as they did a century ago.
Webber also found that between 1996 and 2008, the names Zhang, Wang, and Yang and experienced the fastest growth. Zhang rose by 4719 percent, while Wang grew by 2225 percent.
SINC SAYS:
I was going to write something amusing here folks, but the quote from the story itself can’t be bettered: “Wangs, however, have experienced dramatic growth.”
Countdown To The 2009 Masters . . .
29/03/2009 19:14
Countdown To The 2009
Masters . . .
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 12 –Ben Hogan And Byron Nelson, 1942 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Texans, Hogan and Nelson, posed before Nelson defeated Hogan, 69-70 in the tournament's second playoff.
In an ongoing daily series leading up to the 2009 Masters, which will take place at the fabled Augusta National Golf Club from April 6-12, 2009, St. Albert’s Place brings you Countdown to the 2009 Masters . . . We'll reprise classic reporting and articles from earlier Masters, photo galleries, daily updates of current qualifiers, press releases from Augusta National and coverage of significant Masters 2009 anniversaries.
We hope you enjoy.
Countdown To The Masters – Part 12 –Ben Hogan And Byron Nelson, 1942 Masters
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Texans, Hogan and Nelson, posed before Nelson defeated Hogan, 69-70 in the tournament's second playoff.
Tiger Birdies Final Hole To Edge O’Hair At Bay Hill
29/03/2009 19:14
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Back to playing golf, now Tiger Woods is back to winning tournaments.
With those familiar back-nine heroics, Woods made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational and match his largest comeback ever on the PGA Tour.
Woods closed with a 67 for a one-shot victory over Sean O'Hair, who led Woods by five shots going into the final round.
It was Woods' third tournament since returning from an eight-month layoff forced by knee surgery. And just like that, it seems as though he was never gone.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Just as I said last Thursday, folks, don’t bet against Tiger. What more can I add? He’s off for eight months after having reconstructive knee surgery and, in just his third tournament back, he wins his sixth Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill (his second in-a-row) and his 66th PGA Tour event. He’s simply the greatest golfer that ever lived.
China Wins First-Ever Women’s World Curling Championship
29/03/2009 19:13
GANGNEUNG, South Korea - China's stunning and sudden climb to the top of the women's curling world is complete.
Bingyu Wang put together another masterful performance Sunday, outduelling Sweden's Anette Norberg 8-6 to give her country its first-ever world women's curling championship.
Trailing 7-6 in the 10th end, Norberg drew to the edge of the four-foot with her final shot to lie two. Wang chose to play a hit for the win and removed both Swedish stones, jumping in the air when they went spinning out of the house. The team then joined in a group hug in front of more than 1,500 fans at the Gangneung International Ice Rink.
"So exciting," Wang said, proudly displaying her gold medal. "This game (between) Sweden and us was played so well."
The diminutive skip burst onto the scene last year, emerging from obscurity to post a 9-2 round-robin record before losing to Canada's Jennifer Jones in the final. Wang must have felt a sense of deja vu in her 2009 tournament opener, dropping an 11-6 decision to Jones in Draw 2.
She wouldn't lose again.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Bingyu Wang and the girls from China on winning their first-ever Women’s World Curling Championship and, double congrats for knocking off Anette Norberg of Sweden to boot.
Canada Finishes Fourth At Women’s Worlds Curling
29/03/2009 19:12
GANGNEUNG, South Korea - Canada's Jennifer Jones is leaving the world women's curling championship empty-handed.
The defending champion staged a spirited rally but fell just short, dropping a 7-6 decision to Denmark's Angelina Jensen in Sunday's bronze-medal game. The fourth-place finish marks the first time Canada has missed the podium since 2005, when Jones placed fourth in Paisley, Scotland.
China's Bingyu Wang defeated Sweden's Anette Norberg to win the final and China's first-ever championship.
Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin played a strong game, but couldn't keep up with the hot-shooting Danes, who earned just their second world championship medal since 2001.
"They played very well today," said Jones. "We knew the field was going to be really tough. I thought we hung in there."
Canada stormed back from an early 5-2 deficit to tie the game with two points in the eighth and a one more in the ninth, and did a magnificent job setting up the 10th end for a potential game-winning steal. But with the Canadians lying three, Danish fourth Madeleine Dupont put her first shot right on the button, frozen on an angle to a Canadian stone.
Jones attempted a soft takeout to remove the Danish stone, but her shot didn't curl enough, and it caromed away to leave Denmark lying the game-winning point.
"They (could) get a lot more movement out of their rocks, and we just couldn't follow them down," said Jones. "My last one, we just took a little bit too much ice, perfect weight, and it just didn't curl enough.
"Disappointing ... hugely disappointing. But hopefully we'll be back."
Jones insisted the team will leave Korea believing it played close to its best.
"No regrets," said Jones. "Honestly, you can count up six bad ends we had, and that cost us the championship, really. You feel like you let people down when you go home without a medal, but we played our hearts out and we tried as hard as we could and it just wasn't meant to be."
More from Canadian Press.
Canada meets its match at women’s world curling championship.
Delaney, Pinkney win at Canadian senior curling championships.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
From what I saw of the Women’s Worlds, Canada did not deserve this fate. However, curling is a game of inches and, last week, Canada was just on the wrong side of the inch. I guess that's why stats don't mean a thing. In curling, it can be when the misses are made, which could mean the difference betweem winning and losing.
China and Sweden can have the worlds. We’ll take the Olympic gold next year.
'The King' Tees Off On State Of Golf
29/03/2009 19:11
By Larry Dorman
New York Times
Arnold Palmer sits down for question and answer session
ORLANDO, Fla. — It was just before 10:15 a.m. Thursday, and the host of the Arnold Palmer Invitational was moving through his check list. He had polished off an 8 a.m. breakfast speech to some tournament partners and a 10 a.m. photo-op with about 50 South American collaborators in a golf course venture.
Six months shy of his 80th birthday, tan and smiling, Arnold Palmer checked his watch. He had some time before a scheduled interview, so he sat down in the well-worn leather chair behind his desk, uncapped his Sharpie and began to sign.
His callused fingers engulfed the marker and the big hand moved swiftly, with near-artistic precision, putting sport’s most recognizable signature on an array of hats, photographs, posters, programs and scorecards from around the globe.
More than three and a half decades after his 52nd and final PGA Tour victory in 1973, this is how Arnold Palmer remains one of the world’s most popular athletes. People who may never have seen him play, who have no idea he won 29 times from 1960-64 — including six of his seven major championships — still flood his office asking for autographs. He signs every one.
“We’ve never had an exact figure, but it has to be near a million,” Bev Norwood, a close Palmer associate for 31 years, said when asked how many Palmer had signed.
That many autographs already in circulation could explain why a vintage Pennzoil piggy bank bearing Palmer’s signature had not yet fetched an opening eBay bid of $4.99 by Friday. Palmer is proud of the autograph glut he has created, and plans to keep prices down by continuing to sign for free. He then turned his attention to the golf market.
More from Larry Dorman of the New York Times.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
‘The King,’ Arnold Palmer, continues to be golf’s most beloved ambassador. SWIVEL HIPS saw Arnold Palmer play golf live, and got the King’s autograph, at the Senior Skins Game at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1994. It was the thrill of a lifetime for this avid golf nut.
'Pilsbury Dough Boy,' Koharski, Skates To A Photo Finish
29/03/2009 19:10
Referee will always be remembered for 1988 'doughnutgate'
New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was less than a dozen minutes from NHL history, half a period from his 551st regular-season victory that would equal the record of Hall of Famer Patrick Roy.
The win was hardly in the bag, the Devils clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Montreal Canadiens in this Bell Centre game two weeks ago.
And now, during a TV timeout, Brodeur had a visitor who'd skated into his goal crease with a request.
"Marty," veteran referee Don Koharski said to Brodeur, "I need a picture with you." His 32-season officiating career less than a month from its end, refereeing his final game in Canada, in his favourite city to work, Koharski had no intention of leaving Montreal without a souvenir of the occasion.
"Uh, what?" came the reply.
Focused on his job, Brodeur was puzzled.
"I told Marty, 'Look over there where your father is, with Fish. I asked Fish to take a photo of us,' " Koharski recalls, laughing.
Denis Brodeur, the goalie's father and a longtime hockey photographer, was sitting in the front row at the faceoff circle with Bob Fisher, the Canadiens team photographer. Together, they were shooting Brodeur's landmark game, which the Devils would win 3-1.
"I said to Marty, 'I've got eight games left, so you hang on and make history and I'll have this photo for my wall of shame of my final trip into Montreal,' " Koharski says. "Marty looks over, sees his dad and Fish and he puts this (expletive) grin on his face. It's an awesome photo." Don Koharski, a 53-year-old native of Dartmouth, N.S., will referee his final NHL game on April 9 in Tampa. It will be his 1,714th of the regular season, 1,976th including 262 in the playoffs, 2,139th if you include the 163 he worked as a linesman from 1977-79. And that's before hundreds of pre-season exhibitions and a fistful of international games.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good riddance. As a hockey referee, Koho made a good plumber. I had absolutely no respect for Koho. If one didn’t know better, one would almost think he was a dishonest referee.
Following an incident similar to ‘doughnutgate’, where the Oilers turned him into the league for something or another – I can’t remember what right now, it seemed he always had it in for the Edmonton Oilers, going way out of his way to find them committing infractions of the rules.
Rochette Finds Silver Lining At Worlds
29/03/2009 19:10
Korea's Yu-Na Kim shatters 200-point barrier
It was even better than she imagined.
"This was my little girl dream," Joannie Rochette said. "I always dreamed to do it, but this year, I believed it." The 23-year-old from Ile Dupas, Que., skated off with the silver medal at the world figure skating championships on Saturday -- just the third Canadian woman in 36 years to stand on a world medals podium -- and immediately afterward fell into an enormous hug from the last one to do so.
"Silver's a great colour, you know," beamed Liz Manley, who followed up her 1988 Olympic silver with the same finish at the subsequent worlds. Before that, Vancouver's Karen Magnussen had been the last Canadian female medallist, winning gold in 1973.
"I know, I know!" Rochette said to Manley. "I'm following your program." In her seventh world championship, Rochette finally broke through with the skating week of her life. She had no chance to catch the runaway leader after the short program, Korea's Yu-Na Kim, who was magnificent again on Saturday to shatter the world record. No woman had ever cracked the 200-point barrier for combined points in the two programs, and Kim recorded a staggering 207.71 to win by more than 16 points.
"I don't think about points, but I made a good performance here," said Kim, who shook her head in disbelief when the marks came up. "I kind of thought I could win because I had a very high score in the short program -- but a short program is just a short program. I knew I still had to skate very well in the long. But I think I did pretty good." You might say that. Kim's tour de force, at the head of a field of exceptional women skaters, sets up a terrific scenario for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and so does Rochette's silver, which she won narrowly over 2007 world champion Miki Ando of Japan, with 2008 world champ Mao Asada well back in fourth place.
Rochette made one major error, doubling a scheduled triple loop that was doomed by a slow entry, and stepping out of her second triple Lutz. She also had a little extra hop on the end of her opening Lutz-double toe-double loop combination, but the deductions were mostly minor and she fought through them to deliver a very attractive package that obviously resonated with the judges.
When her marks came up and she was ahead of Asada, who had landed a triple Axel and tried two, Rochette's face was a mixture of joy and incredulity.
"Yes, because I made those mistakes, and thought after the last one, I have to be perfect from now on, and I kept fighting and I'm really proud of that," she said.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Rochette skates to silver medal at world championships.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Canada’s Joannie Rochette.
Curling Club Picks Taxpayer's Pockets . . .
29/03/2009 08:01
Hi Don,
Looks like the St. Albert Tax payer will be supporting renovations to the St. Albert Curling Club (you know, the one Mayor Crouse was recently pictured curling in) to the tune of $825,000.
And get this, part of the justification was “with the expansion, we will be able to hold other [read unrelated] community events to help raise revenues”.