Baby born at 12:34:56 7/8/09

A family in Oklahoma will forever treasure a specific moment in time.

Dennis Joseph Uhrig was born Wednesday at exactly 12:34 and 56 seconds on July 8, 2009. That means his birth certificate reads 12:34:56 7/8/09.

The baby’s mother says she had been planning to have a C-section Wednesday. She says her son’s unique birth time is a bonus.

Dennis shares a birth date with his grandmother.

via Baby born at 12:34:56 7/8/09 – 7/09/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com.

Hmm.. I wonder how they timed that “:56″ part. Must have been a very fast birth.

Visa card surprise: $23,148,855,308,184,500

Some Visa cardholders were surprised to find that recent purchases cost them a little more than expected — $23 quadrillion, plus change.

In New Hampshire, Josh Muszynski said he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and when he later checked his account online found that he had been charged the 17-digit number — a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500.

In North Texas, Jon Seale saw the same 17-figure bill on his credit card statement, presumably for a meal July 13 at a restaurant owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, NBC affiliate KXAS TV reported.

“For that amount of money, I could actually own Wolfgang Puck himself,” Seale said.

Seale said he spent much of Tuesday making calls to Visa and his bank, Wachovia, in hopes of getting the exorbitant charge removed from his Wachovia Visa Buxx credit card. “It’s an inconvenience, but it’s not like I was truly worried my money was gone,” he said. “It’s an obvious, glaring error.”

via Visa card surprise: $23,148,855,308,184,500 – Weird news- msnbc.com.

Image: one quadrillion pennies.

NZ Socerers Cast Spell to Get out of Jail

A New Zealand man spent a “wretched” night in a Fiji prison cell after frightened residents and police raided his Freemasons meeting, suspecting witchcraft and sorcery.

The man, who didn’t want to be named, blamed “dopey village people” for the raid in which 14 members of the Freemasons Lodge of Lautoka were herded into police cars and jailed for the night.

Police also seized lodge paraphernalia, including wands, compasses and a skull.

Yesterday, the man told the Herald that Tuesday night’s meeting was “interrupted by a banging on the door and there were these village people and the police demanding to be let in”.

Nothing sinister had been going on but “such is the nature of life in Fiji” they were taken to a nearby police station, he said.

The Masons were told nothing of the allegations against them, but were warned that under Fiji’s emergency decree, they could be jailed for 48 hours without charge.

The lodge secretary showed police a copy of the permit allowing the meeting, but was told the permit was not the problem.

The commanding police officer then disappeared, leaving the 14 men to spend the night in the cells. …

“The stupidity is overwhelming. Virtually unlimited power is placed in the hands of bungling police, who have no judgment or sense of balance, so, at the whim of an uneducated villager, 14 senior members of society had to spend a night locked up.”

A police spokesman said the men were arrested because police had been tipped off that a meeting was being held and there were “some strange goings-on”.

via NZ Mason jailed over sorcery claims – National – NZ Herald News.

Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies

It could be a combination of 19th-century mechanics, 21st-century technology — and a 20th-century horror movie.

A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies.

Robotic Technology Inc.’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that’s right, “EATR” — “can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable,” reads the company’s Web site.

That “biomass” and “other organically-based energy sources” wouldn’t necessarily be limited to plant material — animal and human corpses contain plenty of energy, and they’d be plentiful in a war zone.

EATR will be powered by the Waste Heat Engine developed by Cyclone Power Technology of Pompano Beach, Fla., which uses an “external combustion chamber” burning up fuel to heat up water in a closed loop, generating electricity.

The advantages to the military are that the robot would be extremely flexible in fuel sources and could roam on its own for months, even years, without having to be refueled or serviced.

Upon the EATR platform, the Pentagon could build all sorts of things — a transport, an ambulance, a communications center, even a mobile gunship.

In press materials, Robotic Technology presents EATR as an essentially benign artificial creature that fills its belly through “foraging,” despite the obvious military purpose.

via Upcoming Military Robot Could Feed on Dead Bodies – Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News – FOXNews.com.

I’m not dead yet!  I’m not .. aaaaaah! … ugh… stupid robots.

Organic molecules found in 66-million year old fossil

In 1999 teenager and budding palaeontologist Tyler Lyson discovered the fossil of a mummified dinosaur, later dubbed Dakota, on his family’s farm. Dakota is one of only five dinosaur mummies ever discovered and is an important paleontological find.

Dakota was found with its skin envelope, along with other areas, including its tail, arms and legs, largely intact. In this almost complete form, Dakota is essentially a three-dimensional fossil.

In December 2007 Dr Phil Manning, a palaeontologist at the University of Manchester and the leader of the recent excavation at the site of discovery, said “the skin has been mineralised” and it was possible “Dakota could contain other soft-tissue remnants”, according to the National Geographic website. This means that scientists will have more to study than just bone. Dakota’s preservation allows for research into tissue-based substances such as tendons, muscles and organs.

On July 3, 2009, researchers said they had found “preserved organic molecules” in Dakota’s skin, according to http://www.media-newswire.com. Researchers said they believed Dakota’s soft tissues had failed to decay because they were protected by “fine sediments that formed a mineral cast”, preventing bacteria from eating away at the tissue.

To be in this condition, Dakota’s body would have needed to be mineralised, a feat in itself, and remained largely untouched by predators and unharmed by geological changes. Furthermore, Dakota would have had to be buried very soon after its death to be preserved in such an unusual way.

It is “absolutely amazing to be able to identify organic molecules from soft tissue that belonged to a beast that died over 66-million years ago”, said Manning, “this is the closest you’re going to get to patting the animal”.

via Organic molecules found in 66-million year old fossil.

NC man calls 911 to report he’s robbing bank

A man insisted on being arrested after he walked into a western North Carolina bank while on the phone with a 911 operator to report that he planned to commit a robbery. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported the man insisted on being arrested after an officer walked in behind him Wednesday at the Wachovia bank branch in Waynesville.

The man told the operator he wasn’t armed and had a robbery note.

Detective Ryan Singleton said the man had quit his job as a sandwich maker and given his possessions to a roommate before going to the bank.

A police report said 52-year-old Terrence Joseph Germani was charged with felony attempted common law robbery and was in the Haywood County jail under $15,000 bond. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

via NC man calls 911 to report he’s robbing bank – Yahoo! News.

Australia seeks new army robots

Australia has launched a multi-million dollar competition to build a new generation of military robots.

The winning design must help soldiers fight by remote control in urban combat zones, defence officials say.

The aim is to reduce casualties in urban areas where fighting is unpredictable and treacherous.

The competition is being run by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation in partnership with the US military.

‘Dirty work’

The government wants to develop an “intelligent and fully autonomous system” capable of carrying out dangerous surveillance missions.

Senior officials in Canberra have said they hope that unarmed robotic vehicles will do some of the army’s “dirty work” in such hazardous theatres.

The ultimate plan is for groups of these sophisticated machines to be sent into battle to help neutralise the enemy.

via BBC NEWS | Technology | Australia seeks new army robots.

UFO flying into the sun is a star, not really flying into the sun.

[Update 7/13/09: the UFO has been identified to be a star. I have been notified by a reader that Delta Gem is the star that the object corresponds to.  The SOHO satellite captured the object in exactly the same position moving at the same speed exactly one year ago which proves it is a star since the Earth takes a year to rotate to view the same celestial sky map behind the sun. See the following SOHO movie: http://lasco-www.nrl.navy.mil/daily_mpg/2008_07/080709_c2.mpg To see the object again for earlier years go to http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater and load the C2 data for 2008-07-09, or 2006-07-09, or 2001-07-09... Thanks to Sungrazer for identifying the UFO as a star - Delta Gem]

I assume this is a time lapse and the star/ufo is not really moving as fast as it seems. If it is a star and the motion is due to our planet’s rotation or the movement of the sun, the star should appear again on the other side of the sun… right?

Masked farm worker ‘fired shotgun at Norwegian crop circle tourists’ after 300ft design appeared overnight

If it had been a group of aliens returning to inspect their handiwork, he would not have stood much of a chance.

Fortunately for Kenneth Wilson the ‘trespassers’ he confronted were visitors from this planet.

A group of Norwegian crop-circle enthusiasts had come in peace to see the latest 300ft creation in a Wiltshire field.

Mr Wilson, however, was determined to keep any intruders at bay and fired several warning shots at the group, it is alleged.

But his stand was halted by an easily identifiable flying object – a police helicopter.

Dressed in camouflage gear the 62-year-old had set up camp in the middle of the crop circle and armed himself with a shotgun.

When a group of tourists arrived to inspect the design, which is thought to represent a bird with an open beak, he opened fire and shouted at them to get off the land.

One of them, Eva- Marie Brekkesbo, 47, said: ‘The gunman was dressed in full camouflage garments, had a black mask over his face and held a gun in his hands.

‘When I asked him if he was the farmer, he said that he was engaged by the farmer to prevent anyone from visiting the crop circle.’

She added: ‘I have been visiting crop circles for a decade and have in various ways been told that we are not welcome, but this is the first time I have been threatened with a gun.

‘Farmers have the right to protect their land, but they have no legal right to threaten people. It was totally unnecessary and incredibly scary.’

A member of the group called the police and with the help of an observation helicopter that was in the area officers swooped in to stop the gunman.

Mr Wilson was arrested at around 2pm on Tuesday. He was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

via Masked farm worker ‘fired shotgun at Norwegian crop circle tourists’ after 300ft design appeared overnight | Mail Online.

Nordic aliens disguised as a group of Norwegian crop-circle enthusiasts? Please, everyone call Norway right away and request a photo of “Eva- Marie Brekkesbo” and/or her friends. Here is the web site for Norway so you can call them: http://www.norway.com/. Has anyone ever seen how fast Eva-Marie can run? Just curious. Probably no connection to the Colin Andrews story… other than some similar elements: police, Nordics and crop circles.

UFO hacker ‘could kill himself if sent to USA’

A senior Government law officer was accused yesterday of “failing to confront the human rights arguments” against forcing a British “UFO eccentric” to face trial in America for hacking into US military networks.

A QC told two High Court judges that extraditing Gary McKinnon (43), who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, would lead to “disastrous consequences” because of his medical condition, including possible psychosis and suicide.

Mr McKinnon from Wood Green, north London, is asking the judges to overturn a refusal by Keir Starmer QC, the  Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), to put him on trial in the UK on charges of computer misuse.

If there is no UK prosecution Mr McKinnon would inevitably be extradited to stand trial in the US, the judges heard.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, appearing for Mr McKinnon, accused the DPP of misapplying the law when he decided there was “insufficient evidence” to support a UK prosecution under the Computer Misuse Act, even though the hacker had admitted his crimes.

Mr Fitzgerald said the DPP had also failed to confront the new evidence concerning Mr McKinnon’s medical condition and deal with the human rights issues it raised.

If sent to the US, Mr McKinnon is likely to receive a substantial prison sentence, possibly served in a ‘supermax’ prison used for high risk inmates.

Judgment has been reserved and a decision is expected by the end of July.

via UFO hacker ‘could kill himself if sent to USA’ – Local & National, News – Belfasttelegraph.co.uk.