Giving Up the Ship

Colbert Bump? Herman Cain Has More South Carolina Votes Than Perry, Huntsman And Bachmann Combined

captain — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:17:10 +0000

Stephen Colbert was too late to get on the ballot in South Carolina, so he asked his supporters to vote for Herman Cain to show support for him. Was the potential candidate able to move the needle? With 99% of precincts reporting, Cain has 6274 votes to 2430 for Rick Perry, 1130 for Jon Huntsman, and 485 for Michele Bachmann. Cain’s performance, with the backing of Colbert, is decisive- he has won a majority of the votes received by candidates who have dropped out. With this performance, we believe Colbert and Cain can proceed to Dropped Out-Republican Convention and compete for the non-nomination. Looking forward to seeing the Colbert campaign capitalize on this victory and move on to Florida.

Red Right Returning…South Carolina Edition (538refugees.wordpress.com)
Stephen Colbert Asks South Carolina to “Rock Me Like a Herman Cain”! (colbertnewshub.com)
Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC: Vote for ‘Herman Cain’ (newsfeed.time.com)
A Vote For Cain Is A Vote For Colbert (eoghann.com)
S. Carolina Final: Raising Cain (bagnewsnotes.com)
New Colbert SuperPAC Ad Encourages SC To Vote For ‘Herman Cain’ (Stephen Colbert) (mediaite.com)
Now I’m Confused (news.icanhascheezburger.com)

Worst. News Story. Ever.

captain — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:23:31 +0000

We didn’t go to fancy journalism school, so you’ll have to excuse our naivete in assuming that a news article ought to include news. So we were pretty puzzled when we came across an article in The Vancouver Sun entitled “Museum curator may have answer to Vancouver Island totem-pole mystery” Could be interesting we thought. We like mysteries. There’s some mystery about a totem pole and a museum curator has a theory. Not exactly. Here’s the entire article:

The origin of the totem pole that washed up at Ogden Point remains a mystery, but some answers may come today when the battered pole is inspected by Grant Keddie, archaeology curator at the Royal B.C. Museum.

Keddie is currently on leave and cannot get to Ogden Point until today, said museum spokeswoman Sue Stackhouse.

“We have had several calls from different parties about that pole,” Stackhouse said.

Hmm, so a totem pole washed up. Mysterious. But no news to report. Some people have called the museum wondering, but the curator is on leave. So nobody knows anything. But we might know something if curator Grant Keddie goes by today. Or not, if he doesn’t get to it. Or something. Slow news day, we guess.

But What Would She Do For A Klondike Bar? Woman Arrested For Offering Sexual Favor In Exchange For McNuggets

captain — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:08:25 +0000

Khadijah Baseer really, really wanted some Chicken McNuggets, but lacked the cash with which to purchase them. So she did what any other crazy or altered person with a craving for processed chicken-like meat would do- started walking down

the drive thru line at 11PM, opening doors and offering sex for Chicken McNuggets. Shockingly, rather than take up a deranged woman on her bizarre proposition, a patron called police, and Baseer was arrested on suspicion of prostitution. We guess nobody wanted her Egg McMuffin.

You Can’t Make This Up – Sexy Mc(sex)Nuggets (pobeptsworld.wordpress.com)
Woman offered sexual favors for Chicken McNuggets, police say (koolnews.wordpress.com)
Who Would Want A BJ From Someone This Desperate For Chicken McNuggets?! (practikel.com)
sex for cash i get, sex for drugs or gifts i get. but who the hell wants to eat chicken nuggets? (benbenw10.wordpress.com)
You Can’t Be Serious: California Woman Offers Sexual Favors In Exchange For McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets (bossip.com)
How Far Would You Go For Chicken McNuggets? (stylecaster.com)

But What Would She Do For A Klondike Bar? Woman Arrested For Offering Sexual Favor In Exchange For McNuggets is a post from Giving Up the Ship - Last One Out...Turn out the Lights. All Rights Reserved.

Two Small Men With Big Nerve Steal Family’s Belongings, Refuse To Honor Judge’s Order

captain — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:55:30 +0000

Natasha Mitchell of Kitchener, Ontario hired a local franchise of Two Small Men With Big Hearts to move all of her family’s belongings in 2009. She’s still waiting for them to arrive. The company showed up on the appointed day, but refused to release Mitchell’s possessions unless she paid $890 on the spot- far more than the agreed upon $500. By that evening, the company was demanding $1245, and by the next day $1901, with a threat that if not paid immediately, it would rise again to $2529. Mitchell sued, but has till not gotten her stuff, which is, apparently, in franchise owner Himanshu “Lucky” Batta’s garage.

The judge was quite angry with Batta’s behavior:

“He appeared quite oblivious to the fact that the kind of option he was giving her was the kind of option which might be given by a blackmailer to his victim,” said the judge in his ruling.

“They were simply unilateral demands,” said the judge. “Fortunately … for Mr. Batta and the defendant’s other employees, this is not a criminal court and criminal charges such as extortion, fraud and theft were not laid against them.”

The court awarded [Mitchell] $22,419, plus interest and costs.

Batta remains unmoved and defiant. “That was a wrong judgment against me. [The judge] does not have a right to say that to me,” said Batta. There is good news for Mitchell, though.

As a result of CBC News inquires, a manager at the head office of Two Small Men Canada said Batta will be forced to honour the judgment.

“We are going to hold him accountable for this,” said Rosario Bullaro from Winnipeg. “TSM Canada will see to it that she gets paid. If [Batta] doesn’t pay it, TSM will pay it, and go after him for the money.”

Bullaro also said by exposing Two Small Men to negative publicity and putting good franchise owners in a bad light, Batta has put his licence at risk.

“I will have a letter drawn up from our corporate lawyer to take steps to shut them down,” he said. He also praised Mitchell for going to court on her own. “Good for her for standing up for her rights.”

Another Ontario operation of Two Small Men with Big Hearts has pleaded guilty to similar practices. The Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services said the North York location admitted to “renegotiating a contract under duress” and two other charges in March 2010.

The franchise was fined $2,250. Since then, the government’s had three new complaints about the same location.

This is not the first time a moving company has been found to behave in such an unscrupulous manner. People are particularly vulnerable when their life’s possessions are locked in someone else’s truck. Another reminder to use extreme caution when selecting a moving company..

Virginia Serial Butt Slasher Captured In Peru

captain — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:16:44 +0000

It feels like it ought to be a euphemism, but Johnny D Guillen has been arrested in Peru after fleeing Virginia, where he is believed to have slashed the buttocks of 13 young women.

Fairfax County Police in Virginia posted on its website that the man — whom it identifies as Johnny D. Guillen Pimentel — is suspected in a retail store assault that took place last year.

County police set up a task force to try to find a serial assailant responsible for several attacks that took place between February 2011 and July 2011.

“In each case, the suspect distracts his victim before cutting them. The victims have all been teenaged women or in their early 20s,” Fairfax County Police said in a statement last year.

In one incident, officers responded to a report of a woman who suffered a 1 1/2 inch wound to her buttocks at a Forever 21 store on July 25.

“The 18-year-old victim was shopping when she noticed clothes that had fallen off of a rack behind her and saw a man bending down to pick them up,” police said. “She abruptly felt a sharp pain and considered that one of the hangers had struck her. A short time later, she discovered her denim shorts had been slashed; her buttocks had been cut and were bleeding.”

In another case, police said, a 21-year-old woman was shopping at a T.J. Maxx store at Fairfax Towne Center on June 8 when she felt a pinch on her buttocks.

Similar to other reports, “the victim turned around, saw a man picking up pieces of clothing and thought she may have been cut by one of the hangers,” police said. “When the woman returned home, she discovered cuts in her clothing.”

We’re certain Viriginia police are working hard to get to the bottom of this matter in which a man made an ass out of them. Once again, in Viriginia, it’s bottoms up!

Suspected butt slasher busted in Peru (cnews.canoe.ca)
Accused Buttock Slasher Nabbed in Peru (myfoxphoenix.com)
Butt Slasher Arrested in Peru (inquisitr.com)
Johnny D. Guillen, Accused ‘Butt Slasher’, Arrested In Peru (huffingtonpost.com)
Accused Buttock Slasher Nabbed in Peru (myfoxny.com)
Busted Butt Slashing Suspect of the Day (thedailywh.at)
Suspected mall slasher arrested in Peru (washingtonpost.com)
Suspected Virginia Butt-Slasher Flees to Peru [Butts] (jezebel.com)
Serial Butt Stabber Caught, Butts Everywhere Rejoice [Crime] (gawker.com)

Can 13 Year Old Aidan Dwyer Revolutionize Solar Energy?

captain — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:16:16 +0000

Aidan Dwyer’s eureka moment came on a wintry Catskill hike- why not shape solar arrays like tree branches rather than flat panels? His early results looked promising. Indeed, they won him a prestigious award for young scientists. Then the press began, and with it, the news that his methodology had been flawed. Dwyer, undaunted, began a new set of tests, still uncompleted, aimed at proving his hypothesis. But then, a strange thing happened.

Aidan began being attacked in internet forums, by those whom he calls “the haters”. Somehow ignoring the remarkable achievement by thus 13 year old, even should he be proven wrong, there was an inappropriate and offensive vitriol. Aidan remains unfazed.

Says the Wall Street Journal

Dr. Kleissl praised Aidan’s work, but added that even if Aidan had measured the right variables, “I’m certain that he will not find that his arrangement is better,” he said. “I think it’s a romantic ideal that nature has many lessons for us, and there are a few cases where this is true, but in the majority of cases we could teach nature, in a way, how to be better, faster.”

On a recent afternoon, Aidan showed a visitor his newest model, tweaked to respond to his critics: a towering seven-foot tree form adorned with solar panels and painted green. He is now measuring current and power. So far, he said, the tree continues to outperform the traditional panel. “I’m thinking that it could actually change the world.”

Aidan Dwyer : A Big Mistake? He’s Still Cool. (willsmath.wordpress.com)
Aidan Dwyer, the 13-year-old, celebrated as a genius for discovering something people loved to think was true. (althouse.blogspot.com)
Can a 13-Year-Old Change the World? (ecoleader.wordpress.com)
13 Year-old Aidan Dwyer Discusses His Fibonacci Sequence-Inspired Solar Tree (Video) (treehugger.com)
The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees (worldwright.wordpress.com)

Isaac Asimov’s Classic Foundation Trilogy Adapted As A BBC Radio Drama – Free MP3 Version

captain — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:53:20 +0000

We like our science fiction old school. Give us E.E. “Doc” Smith or A.E. Van Vogt any day, over whatever the modern hack de jour is churning out. The crowning achievement of the genre, in our opinion, is Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. If you

haven’t read it, well, what are you waiting for? Either way, go and listen to BBC Radio drama version available at archive.org for free. Thanks to Open Culture for bringing this to our attention:

Eventually, the BBC decided to adapt Asimov’s trilogy to the radio, dramatizing the series in eight one-hour episodes that aired between May and June 1973. Years later, you can buy the radio drama on iTunesfor $9.99. But we’re going to suggest that you pocket that hard-earned money and download the radio drama for free from the Internet Archive.

Click the links below to stream the individual episodes. Or download the full program as a zip file. The Internet Archive gives you more download options here.

Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3| Part 5 |MP3| Part 6 |MP3| Part 7 |MP3| Part 8 |MP3|

Asimov’s “Foundation Trilogy” available in BBC audio for free (teleread.com)
Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation Trilogy” – BBC Audio Dramatization (bookofjoe.com)
Happy Birthday, Isaac Asimov! (wired.com)

The Metropolis of Cahokia- City of 100,000 People Thrived A Millenium Ago Near Modern-Day St. Louis

captain — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:46:23 +0000

A site near St. Louis once thought to be home to a small seasonal settlement is now thought to have been the largest native city north of the Rio Grande

The latest excavations uncovered evidence of more than 500 thatched houses. At its peak the city would have been home to 100,000 Native Americans.

But Cahokia lacked the density of Mayan or European settlements – instead appearing to have organised itself along the lines of ‘modern American urban sprawl’.

The remains of the ancient city can be seen at the 2,000 acre Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, which lies just across the Mississippi River from St Louis.

The city, the most sophisticated Native civilisation north of Mexico, was inhabited from 700AD to 1400 and known for its large, man-made earthen structures.

Its original population was thought to have been in the hundreds, but in the 11th century swelled to tens of thousands.

The lost city of Cahokia: Archaeologists uncover Native Americans’ sprawling metropolis (dailymail.co.uk)
Prehistoric City Found Beneath East St. Louis (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)

18 Year Old Widow Protects Her Child, Kills Intruder Bent On Stealing Late Husband’s Painkillers

captain — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:32:41 +0000

18 year old Sarah McKinley’s husband died of lung cancer on Christmas day, leaving behind the grieving widow to care for their 3 month old son. Days later, Justin Martin and Dustin Stewart, high on drugs, broke into her house and attempted to rob her, hoping to score painkillers they hoped her late husband name behind.

It was a bad plan

Much of her ordeal was captured in a recording of the 911 call in which she asked for help — and also asked for permission to shoot if necessary.

“There’s a guy at my door and I’m here by myself with my infant baby. Can I please get a dispatcher out here immediately?” McKinley asks in a voice that is both steady, but tinged with emotion. Grady County dispatcher Diane Graham asks McKinley whether her doors are locked. Her steely answer: “Yes. I’ve got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in my door?”

“I can’t tell you that you can do that,” Graham answers, “but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.”

Justin Shane Martin, 24, of Blanchard, died clutching a knife in his gloved left hand, according to court records filed in Grady County district court. His alleged accomplice, Dustin Louis Stewart, 29, also of Blanchard, shown above, later turned himself in to police.

…

McKinley told NewsOK that she tried to hold off as long as she could, waiting for police to arrive, while Martin kept pounding on the front door. At one point, she gave her son a bottle to keep him from crying too loud — and possibly alerting the intruders to her specific location.

“I didn’t want to give away my position in the house, I wanted to see him first,” she said of the intruders during this video interview with NewsOK.

But about 21 minutes later, with no law enforcement officer in sight, Martin pushed his way in the door.

“I was standing in the bedroom doorway with a shotgun in my hand … when he did come in the door … I told 911 I was going to shoot and I did. And he just kind of fell over the couch.”

She said she feels bad — but has no regrets.

“I felt like what I did was the best decision for my son and I. Obviously when someone breaks into your house with a deadly weapon, they’re not here for anything good. But I am very sorry and it’s not something I ever wanted to do.”

McKinley will not be charged as she acted in self-defense. We wish her and her child only happiness and success from now on.

Oklahoma teen mom called ‘hero’ for fatally shooting intruder (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Teen mom won’t be charged after shooting intruder – CANOE (cnews.canoe.ca)
Widowed Teen Mom Shoots Intruder to Protect Infant Son (people.com)
Woman Kills Intruder After Asking 911 Operator For Permission To Shoot Him [Crime] (jezebel.com)

Did Defective Tylenol Kill 2 Year Old?

captain — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:56:41 +0000

It’s been a tough several years for the reputation of Johnson & Johnson. Over two dozen recalls affecting its most popular products including Tylenol, Benadryl and Motrin have created questions about quality processes at the venerable

company. The Huffington Post notes

The number of recalls and the company’s handling of them – including a 2008 “stealth recall” in which J&J paid another company to secretly buy up defective Motrin packets from stores – have generated investigations by Congress and the Food and Drug Administration. They also forced the shutdown and gutting of the Fort Washington, Pa., factory operated by J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit that made many of the recalled over-the-counter medicines

The family of 2 year old River Moore who died after taking Tylenol from a batch that was later recalled has now sued Johnson & Johnson alleging that the medicine contained a fatal dose of its active ingredient, acetaminophen. The lawsuit

accuses them of “willful and reckless conduct which needlessly caused the death of (the boy) simply to preserve the continuation of their billion-dollar revenue streams of pediatric medicines.”

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, interest and legal expenses.

“We are sympathetic to the pain and hardships suffered by the Moore family,” J&J said in the statement. “We are deeply concerned about all matters related to our medicines and we remain committed to providing safe and effective pediatric medicines.”

From the public statements, there seems to be reasonable evidence to conclude that it is likely that defective medicine was the cause of the child’s death. We don’t know what else might come out through the legal process, but we hope that all involved will make drug safety their primary concern in reaching a resolution in this case.

Couple says defective recalled J&J med killed son (sfgate.com)
Couple says defective recalled J&J med killed son (seattlepi.com)
Johnson & Johnson Ends 2011 Just At It Began — By Recalling More Stuff (consumerist.com)

Giving Up the Ship

Colbert Bump? Herman Cain Has More South Carolina Votes Than Perry, Huntsman And Bachmann Combined

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Worst. News Story. Ever.

But What Would She Do For A Klondike Bar? Woman Arrested For Offering Sexual Favor In Exchange For McNuggets

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Two Small Men With Big Nerve Steal Family’s Belongings, Refuse To Honor Judge’s Order

Virginia Serial Butt Slasher Captured In Peru

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Can 13 Year Old Aidan Dwyer Revolutionize Solar Energy?

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Isaac Asimov’s Classic Foundation Trilogy Adapted As A BBC Radio Drama – Free MP3 Version

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18 Year Old Widow Protects Her Child, Kills Intruder Bent On Stealing Late Husband’s Painkillers

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