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In 2003, Californian Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez was pulled
over in Nebraska. State troopers searched his car and found $124,700 in
cash in a cooler in the back seat. Gonzolez said he had tried to buy a
truck with the cash, but it was sold by the time he got there, and he
had hidden it in the cooler to avoid robbery. But a police dog detected
traces of drugs on the money, so police confiscated it. Gonzolez was
not found in possession of any drugs, and he was not charged with any
crime. A federal court ruled police had to return the cash, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned that decision, saying
that because the money "may have been" the proceeds of a drug deal, the
police could keep it. (Associated Press) ..."Equality Before the Law"
--Nebraska's state motto.
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An international team of astronomers announced Tuesday in
Germany the discovery of two planets, both among the hottest
ever found, outside the solar system. University of Florida
astronomer Stephen Kane is among more than three dozen scientists
who found the new large planets, announced at the Transiting
Extrasolar Planets Workshop at the Max Planck Institute for
Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. Kane, a postdoctoral associate,
said he and his colleagues pinpointed the planets by detecting
the slight dimming of starlight that occurs when the planets
pass in front of their stars. Of about 200 planets discovered,
the new planets are only the 13th and 14th to be found using
the transiting technique. The new planets are so close to their
stars they complete their orbit in a just 2 and 2 1/2 days.
That compares with 88 days for Mercury, the planet with the
fastest orbit in the solar system. The very close orbit also
means the new planets are hotter than Mercury, which has a
surface temperature of 752 degrees Fahrenheit. The planets
are estimated to have a temperature of at least 3,272 degrees
Fahrenheit. No Trackbacks

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Fruit fly larvae warmed in the lab are giving U.S. scientists
a way to watch chromosomes in action, viewing how genes are
expressed in living tissue. Using multiphoton fluorescence
microscopy, a technique pioneered at Cornell University by
physicist Watt Webb, Cornell researchers have for the first
time been able to watch chromosomes change their form in order
to activate their genes to synthesize key proteins in fruit fly
cells. The advance could be a significant step toward
understanding the basic processes that underlie gene
expression. The discovery was the result of cross-disciplinary
collaboration between Webb and John Lis, a Cornell professor of
molecular biology and genetics. Jie Yao, who recently earned his
doctorate at Cornell, initiated and facilitated the work.
"This technology will revolutionize the way we see gene
expression in organisms," said Lis. "We're watching transcription
in real time in living cells." The research was described in
the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Nature.
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A group of Vermont residents want to "take on the empire"
and fight to secede from the United States and become their
own little country. Members of the Second Vermont Republic
have been trying to build momentum for their movement this
summer at various county fairs, the Los Angeles Times
reported Sunday. The group, launched about three years
ago, says U.S. citizens have been forgotten by a federal
government that is too involved in international issues.
"Intellectually, they've got some horsepower," John
McClaughry, head of the non-partisan Vermont think tank,
Ethan Allen Institute, said while calling the 150-member
group "a good-natured cult." Second Vermont Republic
co-founder Thomas Naylor admitted it's a long shot, but
said the group will keep pushing until state lawmakers
agree at least to consider the idea. "Part of why we
are so optimistic is the absurdity of it all," Naylor
said. "What could be more absurd than tiny Vermont taking
on the empire?" Naylor, 70, said his group has strength
in its tenacity. "Ultimately it is a question of
political will: the will of the people of Vermont
versus the will of the government to stop us," he said.
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Driving School: Real answers received on exams given by the
California Department of Transportation's driving school:

Q: Do you yield when a blind pedestrian is crossing the road?
A: What for? He can't see my license plate.

Q: Who has the right of way when four cars approach a four-
way stop at the same time?
A: The pick up truck with the gun rack and the bumper
sticker saying, "Guns don't kill people. I do."

Q: When driving through fog, what should you use?
A: Your car.

Q: What changes would occur in your lifestyle if you could
no longer drive lawfully?
A: I would be forced to drive unlawfully.

Q: What are some points to remember when passing or being
passed?
A: Make eye contact and wave "hello" if he/she is cute.

Q: What is the difference between a flashing red traffic
light and a flashing yellow traffic light?
A: The color.

Q: How do you deal with heavy traffic?
A: Heavy psychedelics.
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ARGENTINA - A washing machine repair man had no idea that a routine repair job would turn out to be a hostage nightmare.

Terra Populares, a 44-year-old aggravated housewife, told him she had nothing but troubles since she bought her washing machine and allegedly held the engineer at gun point until he fixed it. Before allowing him to leave, Populares forced the repair man to sign a statement swearing the machine would never break again. He promptly restored the machine, and the mad woman let him go... straight to the police station.
Populares was quickly arrested. No Trackbacks

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TEXAS - Talk about your luck. A Texas man who only had two months to live due to an inoperable and fatal brain tumor decided to make the sentence a little shorter by taking his own life. "Steve Huey" reportedly wrote a suicide note and then placed the gun to his head and shot. A few hours later, Huey's friends found him on the floor in a pool of blood and called an ambulance. The amazing thing is that Huey not only
survived the gunshot to the head, he actually shot the tumor off of his brain. Doctors say this is a 254 million to one shot, and friends are now encouraging Huey to play the lottery. Huey is currently writing a book and is planning a book signing tour. Also in the works, a movie based on his story. "I am a very lucky guy and I plan to turn this miracle into some serious cash for myself," said Huey in an exclusive interview.
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SLEAFORD, England - A 3-year-old British boy showed just
what a wiz he is at bidding on the Internet, buying a car
off eBay. Rachel and Jack Neal of Sleaford say their young
son, Jack, recently spent $17,106.00 for a Barbie pink Nissan
Figaro off the auction site, the Sun reports. The Neals found
out about Jack's endeavor when they received a congratulatory
message. Since Jack was sleeping at the time, the Neals had
to wait until the next morning to ask him what he did. "I've
bought a car," he happily told his parents. The Neals say
Jack has been using the Internet since he was 2 and apparent-
ly got hold of his mother's eBay password. After the Neals
explained the situation, the seller has agreed to re-advertise
the car. No Trackbacks

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The Egyptian game of Senet was a best-seller some 4,000
years ago. Even King Tut had one. He liked it so mcuh he was
buried with it.

The first American board game, "The Mansion of Happiness,"
was produced in 1843. Its theme was Victorian: players tried
to avoid Passion, Idleness, Cruelty, Immodesty, and
Ingratitude. Drunkenness was punished by a trip to the
stocks.

In 1860, Milton Bradley bought a lithographic press and
began printing board games. His first game was called "The
Checkered Game of Life." Object: Get to "happy old age"
while avoiding "disgrace" and "ruin."

Mark Twain invented a game he called "Mark Twain's Memory
Builder: A Game for Acquiring and Retaining All Sorts of
Facts and Dates." In the introduction to the rules he wrote:
"Many public school children seem to know only two dates -
1492 and 4th of July; but as a rule they don't know what
happened on either occasion. It is because they have not
had a chance to play this game.

The earliest board game on record is the royal game of Ur,
which was invented more than 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia,
the site of present-day Iraq. It was a "race" game; the
first player to complete the course was the winner. Moves
were governed by throwing dice-like objects. Archaeologists
believe it is the forerunner of backgammon.

Parcheesi, the original male chauvinist game, was created in
the 1500s in India by Akbar the Great. It was played in the
palace courtyard with young women as game pawns. "Home" was
originally the emperor's throne.

In 1988, the 23rd foreign language version of Monopoly was
manufactured - in the USSR. Among the changes: a Russian
bear token, real estate names corresponding to Moscow
locations (Broadway became the Arbat Mall) and rubles
instead of dollars. No Trackbacks

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